The Apple Pirate Flag – A Fun Story from Apple History, and a Free Wallpaper

“It’s better to be a pirate than join the navy.” – Steve Jobs

Have you ever seen the Apple Pirate Flag, generally known as the Apple Jolly Roger, and puzzled what the story was round that? I did too, so I dug right into a bit to uncover a enjoyable little a part of Apple historical past.

What’s the story of the Apple Pirate Flag?

Apple’s early days had been marked by a rebellious spirit, symbolized by the long-lasting “Apple Pirate Flag”, and a shortened model of the story goes like this; In 1983, the Macintosh group was form of a skunkworks division inside Apple, and their aim was radical; construct a revolutionary desktop pc that was simple to make use of. Needing an emblem for his or her battle, and impressed by the now well-known Steve Jobs quote about being a pirate, early Apple worker Steve Capps commissioned a flag bearing a cranium and crossbones from Apple designer Susan Kare, adorned with the rainbow Apple brand as a watch patch, to which he then snuck onto the roof of the Apple campus roof and hoisted the colours excessive.

This flag turned a rallying cry for the group, embodying their individuality and creativity. It even snuck into some advertising and marketing supplies, solidifying its place as an emblem of Apple’s “think different” tradition. Though not flying exterior headquarters, the pirate spirit stays ingrained within the firm’s DNA, driving them to always innovate and problem the established order.

The Apple Pirate Flag Resurfaces

That pirate ethos continued effectively into later Apple years, as you’ll be able to see on this Easter Egg video included in System 7.1 CD’s from the group who constructed the Quadra 840V and Centris 660AV round 1993. In the video, a pirate flag is seen within the background.

And more not too long ago, as late as 2016, Apple has flown a pirate flag or Jolly Roger flag over their Cupertino headquarters.

When will the Apple Pirate Flag fly once more? Time will inform!

Can you get your individual Apple Pirate Flag?

If you’d like to purchase an Apple Pirate Flag of your individual, and from the unique designer who got here up with it (!), Susan Kare nonetheless makes them by hand, they usually’re obtainable to buy for $9,750 as of this writing.

I might like to have one among these for myself, however that’s considerably out of my private value vary, however possibly with sufficient well-liked demand, inexpensive reproductions or prints could be made obtainable?

How a couple of free Apple Pirate Flag wallpaper?

And should you merely need an Apple Pirate Flag wallpaper to your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, right here you go (from this retro wallpaper submit back in 2012), it’s a reproduction constructed across the similar normal design and makes for a enjoyable desktop background:

Or you will get one other recreation of the Apple Jolly Roger with a refined linen/material kind sample from FundamentalAppleMan.com right here.

Get the Full Story from the Amazing Folklore.org!

Now you already know slightly more about slightly piece of Apple historical past, however the fact is no one tells the story higher than Andy Hertzfeld at his wonderful web site, folklore.org, which has over 100 different tales concerning the early days of Apple and the Macintosh.

If you’re a fan of Apple historical past, don’t miss it!