The Apple Mac logo was, at one time, a rainbow-colored apple with a bite taken out of it (today the company uses a uniform color). Lots of potential symbolism. The apple is the “forbidden fruit” (as it might have seemed at one time) of personal computing power. The bite is a “byte”. Etc.
A particularly enticing theory is that the logo relates to Alan Turing, the British mathematician who is to some the founding father of modern computing. Turing commited suicide in the 1950s because his homosexuality made him a security risk in official eyes. He ate a poisoned apple. According to the theory, the Apple logo (the rainbow colors signifying gay pride) was a tribute to him.
Great sounding theory. But is it true? This site (a rather lame version of the SDMB) suggests not…
Does anyone have the straight dope on this? My hunch is that if the story were true it would be common knowledge. The Apple website is silent on the matter.
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I’m glad the monochrome Apple stickers come with Apple computers now. All of my cars have/do bear them. The old multi-colored stickers and my not being gay twice led to some, uh, interesting conversations. On the other hand, I was able to preach Apple, so maybe I should consider switching back (stickers, that is).
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Apple’s 1976 rainbow-colored trademark preceded the rainbow-colored gay pride flag, which debuted at the 1978 San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade, designed by Gilbert Baker.
One thing not quoted from the article Q.E.D. referenced above is that Apple Computer’s previous corporate trademark was a picture of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree, with a phrase from Wordsworth: “Newton…‘A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought…Alone.’”
The revised trademark by the Regis McKenna Agency was just a continuation of the Isaac Newton theme. Apple Computer further purused the connection by later naming its PDA The Newton.
Apple’s 1976 rainbow-colored trademark preceded the rainbow-colored gay pride flag, which debuted at the 1978 San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade, designed by Gilbert Baker.
One thing not quoted from the article Q.E.D. referenced above is that Apple Computer’s previous corporate trademark was a picture of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree, with a phrase from Wordsworth: “Newton…‘A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought…Alone.’”
The revised trademark by the Regis McKenna Agency was just a continuation of the Isaac Newton theme. Apple Computer further purused the connection by later naming its PDA The Newton.
And according to one book I’ve read on the subject (could have been Job’s biography of a few years ago), one of the reasons for choosing the name ‘Apple’ was:
To beat ‘Atari’ in the phone book.
Steve (Woz or Jobs, I can’t remember) had this idea, that if you wanted to buy a computer, the first thing you would do, would be to look in the phone book (did the yellow pages exist then?), and buy the first one you found. (I guess the corresponding trick today would be to be at the top of the google search for ‘computers’, a position held today by apple.com!)