Apple and Steve Jobs easter eggs in current macOS versions

Especially in video games, but not only there, there are so-called Easter eggs (or spelled correctly Easter Eggs). These "Easter eggs" are small, hidden content that may not always be useful. Sometimes they're just meant to be a small reward for users taking the trouble to find them. And although Easter is already over for this year, I have the current Apple and Steve Jobs Easter eggs in macOS 13 Adventure picked out. I used various online sources to track them down. Do you have any additions to this overview? Then leave a comment!

The Crazy Ones / Think Different Easter Egg - Hidden several times in macOS

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the second half of the 1990s to save the company from its demise, the new device he introduced was the iconic transparent and colorful iMac. This not only heralded a new era; for the associated "Think different' campaign, a very special text was also written. This is also known as "The Crazy Ones" because it is aimed at creative people and more or less at outsiders and nerds. Parts of the text can be found in macOS.

If you recently looked very carefully at the screenshots in the instructions "Mac display: View the full list of adjustable resolutions', then you have already noticed the opening words of the advertising text. Because in the five symbols for the standard resolutions for displays on the Mac you can read the following: "Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. the rebels The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes […]" and so forth.

But there are also cross-references to this text in cross-system symbols. Because emojis and their general meaning are standardized for macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux and Co. The exact design of the individual images is the responsibility of the individual companies that offer the respective system. And so you can find the beginning of "The Crazy Ones" in one of Apple's book emojis.

That's not the only emoji that references "The Crazy Ones" though. The coin emoji added to the collection in 2020 is even clearer, namely with exactly these three words. 

Steve Jobs' catchphrases immortalized on a vinyl record

If you look at various keynotes and presentations in which Steve Jobs introduced something new and wanted to make the audience palatable, then you will always find the same little buzzwords. In the repertoire he had, for example, "Magic", "Revolution", "Boom!" and "Unbelievable". These four words are published on a profile picture suggestion along with an Apple logo () and the "Made in California" lettering:

1. Click this on the top left of the menu bar Apple logo an
2. Then select from the drop-down menu System settings ... from
3. Get left in the window that opens Users & Groups on
4. Then right click that Profile Image your account
5. In the "Suggestions" overview, scroll down to vinyl record

As you can see, you don't see anything yet. But this profile picture suggestion can be called up as a file on the Mac hard drive and then enlarged. The graphics file or the link to it is hidden behind this path: ~/Library/UserPictures/Instruments. There you simply open the file Turntable.heic and you can zoom in on the label.

Macintosh presentation as the default date for file downloads

Speaking of product presentations by the co-founder of Apple: The first public presentation of the Macintosh computer by Steve Jobs took place on January 24, 1984. You can find this date in current macOS versions including Ventura by right-clicking or secondary-clicking on the information of files that are currently being downloaded. For such a download file, that date is displayed under "Created". Once the download is complete, this Easter Egg will disappear.

Steve Jobs' glasses as a symbol (eg in the Safari browser)

From a certain point on, Steve Jobs counted among his trademarks not only his jeans and his black turtleneck sweater, but also his glasses. The glasses with the round lenses can be found e.g. B. in the free eBook Make Something Wonderful pictured. You can also find them as a "Reading List" icon in Safari Web browser or under the name "eyeglasses" in the symbol collection SF symbols.

What is the Clarus / Moof Easter Egg?

Above I have already shown you two unique Easter Egg Emojis from macOS and other Apple operating systems. But have you ever entered the terms “Clarus” or “Moof” instead of “dog” or “cow” in the emoji search field? With these you get a dog and a cow emoji at the same time. Why? Because Clarus the Puppy was introduced into the Apple and Macintosh operating systems in the 1980s. It indicated the page orientation of documents to be printed (whole story here).

For a long time it was no longer found in Mac OS, OS X or macOS. But it's back in macOS Ventura (the current Mac operating system). Although the graphics are no longer so pixelated, but rather rounded, you can still find them if you e.g. Am Pages, TextEditor or a similar program, click on "Paper Setup..." in the "File" menu.

Voice memos app: Icon shows the company name

Have you ever wondered what kind of audio recording is in the voice memo icon? App was pictured? Well, it's the word "Apple".

Maps App: Icon shows the "Apple Park Ring"

Apple Park is the headquarters of Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California. The circular main building with its imposing glass facades and the roof full of solar panels is called the "Ring". And that's what you see in the upper-right corner of the Apple Maps app icon. It is the gray quadrant with the segments to the left and right of the raised center and the white border.

PC icon shows the "Blue Screen of Death"

It's no secret that Apple likes to make fun of Windows PCs. There were and are entire advertising campaigns that revolve around this topic. However, an indication of the unreliability attributed to the PCs can also be found in a collection of symbols under macOS on the Apple Mac. To do this, call this path in the Finder to: ~/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources. There you will find not only network icons for all kinds of Apple devices but also an .icns file for PCs. The file is called public.generic-pc.icns - it shows a tube monitor and a blue error screen / crash report.

Which Easter Egg do you know from old Mac OS, OS X and macOS versions?

Many a Mac easter egg comes and goes. For example, the "Crazy Ones" text is no longer part of the TextEditor icon. And the "Emacs" commands no longer work in the Port. Furthermore, I could no longer find the Sosumi sound listed in some sources in the system settings - it issued the words "So Sue Me" ("Then sue me") instead of an instrument tone. Do you know any other Easter Eggs from previous Mac OS, OS X or macOS versions? Then please leave a comment!

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.