What's in a name? That which we call a Mac by any other name would...probably still be as popular.
Since 1984, Apple has used some pretty interesting names for its Mac products and operating systems. Ever wonder how Mac teams came up with the many themes to its operating systems? Or what Steve Jobs really wanted to name the company?
See also: The Mac Turns 30: Inside the Incredible Evolution of Apple's PC
Here's a list of some little-known name facts about the tech juggernauts.
Image: Flickr, fedeanimation
Most Mac aficionados know that the computers are named after the McIntosh apple. But did you know that Steve Jobs wanted to call the company Bicycle instead? He said computers were bicycles for our minds.
Image: Flickr, William Warby
If you've used Mac products over the years, you know most of its recent operating systems are named after big cats (Lion, Leopard, Tiger, etc.). Apple has never revealed the exact reason why, but that might be because the feline-themed names were supposed to stay a secret.
In 2002, the code name "Jaguar" became well-known to the public for Mac OS X 10.2. It seemed to catch on, so Apple just ran with the animal theme until 2013.
Image: Flickr, Nicolas Raymond
Released in October 2013, Mavericks is the first OS X in more than 10 years to not have a big cat name, starting Apple’s new West Coast-themed trend.
Craig Federighi, head of OS X and iOS development, said Apple had shifted to a naming convention honoring California, "the place where OS X is designed and built."
Image: Flickr, Eden Pictures
Before Apple officially named Mavericks, Mac users shared what they wanted to name the new OS X 10.9 in a poll conducted by InfoWorld. Lynx led the way with 30.14%, while Cougar, Sabertooth and Ocelot closely followed.
Image: Flickr, Andrew Kuchling
Early versions of Mac OS were named Gershwin and Copland, after composers George Gershwin and Aaron Copland. If you've never heard about these projects, it's because they were complete failures.
Image: Flickr, Jono TakesPhotos
Apple has a long history of using code names while creating new products, which promotes secrecy during development stages. But that doesn't mean all the code names had to be boring — Mac teams have come up with tons of fun, fictional and just plain badass disguises: SnakeBite (Power Mac G4), Dragonkid (Macintosh LC 580), Mr T. (Macintosh Plus), Road Warrior (PowerBook 170), JeDi (PowerBook 150, which stood for "Just Did It," but Star Wars fans will only see this one way) and Love Shack (backlit Mac Portable) are just a few examples.
Image: Flickr, Boston Public Library
The original development team at Apple had a tradition of nicknaming the buildings in which they worked. According to Andy Hertzfeld, an original team member of Mac's dev team, the group nicknamed the building "Texaco Towers," because there was a Texaco gas station around the corner.
Image: Flickr, Johann Edwin Heupel
Why, you ask? Well, let's go back to those code names. In 1994, Apple nicknamed the Power Macintosh 7100 the "Carl Sagan," because they hoped it would make them "billions and billions" in sales (a phrase associated with Sagan, which he later used as the title of one of his books).
The scientist didn't take too kindly to that when he found out, and sued Apple for libel. They reached an out-of-court settlement.
Image: Flickr, Jean-Luc Ourlin
In 1994, Apple developed a new programming language for Macs called the "Dylan," which stood for "DYnamic LANguage." Folk singer Bob Dylan (who was born Robert Zimmerman — Dylan was a name he gave himself) sued the company, saying that they were using the name to capitalize on his popularity.
As with Sagan, Apple reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Dylan.
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