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42 Comments
- rauz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5SonicAD, yeah sorry next time we'll bomb some innocent country to get your attention.
But "jokes" aside...it's funny that not even Steve Jobs know the symbols real meaning. It doesn't mean campground, it means "ancient monument", most of the times it points to a runestone or the site of an old viking fortress. So there. - complexigon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"So Sweden IS good for something!"
Dude, Sweden is good for many things.
Usually women and heavy metal. - skyfex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah. I totally reacted to this when I first saw a Mac (which I now own). I'm Norwegian though, but we have the symbol too. It's a nice symbol.
jool: Norwegian women and heavy metal owns swedish women and heavy metal. Though they've got us at cars and un-assemblable furniture =P But then again, sweden and norway is practically the same. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The command key is definitely my favorite key.
That's one thing that always mystified me about those Apple keyboards, going as far back as Apple II GS, so I did some research on it a while ago. Here's what I came up with:
- 1979~1982: During the process of designing the Lisa the designers at Apple figured that every menu command should have a corresponding keyboard shortcut (imagine that), so they put a "command" key on their keyboard. The command keys on early Lisa prototypes were actually labeled "Command".
http://www.guidebookgallery.org/extras/spotlights/lisa/secrets/pics/keyboard-prototype1
- 1980: Apple introduces the Apple ///, their first computer to feature Apple keys.
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/Apple_III_Keyboard_s1.jpg
- 1983: By the time of Lisa's release in '83, "Command" was replaced with the Apple symbol, and the Option key was added. The Apple //e was also introduced in '83 and was the first Apple II model to feature the open and closed Apple keys.
http://www.guidebookgallery.org/extras/spotlights/lisa/secrets/pics/keyboard
- 1984: As we now know, the Mac has a "Command" key just like the Lisa, it was originally intended to use the Apple symbol and was changed to the clover leaf at the last minute. From '84 to '87 the Mac keyboard had no Apple symbol, only the cloverleaf.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Apple_Macintosh_Plus_Keyboard.jpg
- 1986: The Apple II GS is released and is the first computer the use the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) to connect the mouse and keyboard to the computer. ADB would later be used on Macs from 1987 until 1998 when iMac switched to USB. The command key on the Apple II GS is just crazy.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Apple_IIgs_Keyboard_A.jpg
The Apple II GS keyboard was the first to feature both the Apple and cloverleaf symbols on the command key. The GS was compatible with the old Apple //e systems (Apple Symbol) but also featured a Mac-like GUI (cloverleaf). I can only speculate, but I like to think that the command key on the GS used both Apple and cloverleaf symbols to signify the intersection of the Apple II and Mac worlds on one machine, or at least it's a nod to Apple II users. Or perhaps they just thought it would be cool to confuse people and put both symbols on there.
Regardless, ever since the Apple IIGS, every Apple keyboard has featured both the Apple and cloverleaf symbols on the command key. So when I look at the command key I think of Sweden and the Apple II.
There you have it. The most storied key in computer history. - Cyrack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, the symbol is indeed used in Denmark, so shouldn't we declare it a Scandinavian symbol so far?
Not mistaken I haven't seen it in Germany and Italy, so it might just be us crazy Scandinavians using it...
BTW. The Danish girls might not be as pretty as our northern and eastern neighbors, and we ain't great at making heavy metal, neither do we manufacture cars, but at least we have Carlsberg [http://www.carlsberg.com/] and Tuborg [http://www.tuborg.com/], and it's cheap! - gamabunta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1that site is great. i like the one story of the guy so determined to quit apple he was willing to piss on jobs' desk since he figured it would be the only way he could get a word in edgewise with him.
- tratten, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Swedish road sign is called "sevärdhet", which translates to "sight" or "something worth seeing".
Road sign: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upplysningsm%C3%A4rken#Sev.C3.A4rdhet
Translation: http://lexikon.nada.kth.se/cgi-bin/sve-eng?sev%E4rdhet - stray, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What I want to know is where I can get that "comprehensive international symbol dictionary" to which they referred. That thing would be sweet.
- hybrid8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1BERSERKER!
- frej, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Call me finicky. But doesn't the Swedish road sign mean "Something worth seeing"? And in Sweden that just happens to be old ruins and old viking stuff most of the time?
"... Sweden to indicate an interesting feature or attraction in a campground." I think that is a pretty good explanation of the sign.
How ever it was a pretty nice anecdote. - Yoshi39, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Call me finicky. But doesn't the Swedish road sign mean "Something worth seeing"? And in Sweden that just happens to be old ruins and old viking stuff most of the time?"
No that's not the case if you look on the legend (I think that is what it is called any way) it says that the symbol stands for "Forn minnes märke" directlly translated that is "ancient memory mark" in other words an object preserved as a memory of the olden days (wich usually is ruins and old viking stuff :) ) . - skater2968, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Amazing site, been browsing for about an hour now. lots of interesting stories. the command story in itself is Rather dull, however as stated above, a lot of the other stories are captivating.
- pgm_01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Apple keys were better.
Open Apple, Control, Reset to reboot
Closed Apple, Control, Reset to run a self test - CronicusX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice read.
- Bromskloss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0skyfex writes: "But then again, sweden and norway is practically the same."
Well apart from that Sweden now is a member of the European Union. :-( I hope will be welcome to move in with you Norwegians when things get too out of hand here in Sweden. Would rather have a Norse Union (or mabye should call it "Nordic Union"). Thanks. - SonicAD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1So Sweden IS good for something!
- aquax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Susan Kare is awesome.
- mike_p, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0now this... is something i've honestly always wondered about...
a swedish campground... haha =D - _Simplistic_, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cute.
- m00ndancer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice story.
BTW
Be nice to us Scandinavians, if offended we might get our swords and ships and go rape your women and plunder you villages
:-) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Volvos!
- niggs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yoshi39 is right. The symbol means "ancient memory".
MVH
A blond, blue eyed viking! :) - jool, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@skyfex
Actually, both Swedes and Norwegians know that nothing beats the alcohol consumption and darkness in the Finnish forests when creating heavy metal. - chrislewis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Lol coolness. Dugg.
- jool, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0'"So Sweden IS good for something!"
Dude, Sweden is good for many things.
Usually women and heavy metal.'
Let's not forget the non-assembled furniture and safe cars. But sure, we are proud of all the blond nymphomaniac women called Inga. - alexdagrate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0great post!
- Nermal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"And it still doesn't explain the menu symbol that consists of a ramp with a line going toward it. What the ***** is that supposed to be?"
It's a "switch" or "option". I believe that the same symbol is used in electrical schematics to indicate a switch. - DoggerBlue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yo, the article doesn't say the symbol means campground. It says that the symbol means something interesting to see IN a campground. So .... yeah.
DB. - breakneckridge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I've always thought that for such an intuitive system in general, they really need to change that stupid symbol that has no logic to (outside of Sweden that is).
- jehrler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not Volvos, Saabs!
- anagami, on 07/02/2008, -0/+0sweet +dugg
(I can't submit links! anyone have this problem?) - vuzman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Link: http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/25/2518.html
- tantalic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Why are they too stupid to simply put "Cmd" or "Command" on the key?"
I suppose the question is why are you too stupid to realize this would require an additional 2 or 6 characters added to every menu item. A single character is both easier to recognize and takes up less space in the menu. - vuzman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0From www.symbols.com :
In Germanic countries this structure is called St. Hans' cross or the cross of St John. In Scandinavia it is a magic ideogram from the Viking era, or even older. It seems also to have been used in Cabbalistic mysticism. Today, it is used as a cartographic and traffic sign to denote ancient remains or an ancient monument. - superspak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0that was a good read
- Philbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Open Apple, Control, Reset to reboot
Closed Apple, Control, Reset to run a self test"
Honestly I haven't used an Apple brand computer since about 1992 and I think those were older Apple IIe's So when I read the article here I wondered if they still used the Open Apple / Closed Apple. I guess not! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Ever wonder where that weird flower-ish symbol on Apple Computer keyboards came from?"
No. - CadMasterAdam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0my mastery of usesless knoweldge is now complete!! mmmuaahahaahah
- Nick_Circosta, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0mmmm
-Nick - SuperSloth, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Zzzzzzz....
- masterzora, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0News? Last I checked, news was about current and recent events. 1983 doesn't seem so current or recent.
Report++ - AhronZombi, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0dupe!!!
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