The mystery behind the Mac OS X icons

Have you seen the icons in Mac OS X applications  in more detail? Whether you may use a 30 inches screen, or you zoom in until it fills the screen. Apple, as hardware and computer manufacture that puts the  aesthetics  and design, in fact is a eccentric and perfectionist company.

At first glance, these icons look beautiful and unique, but beyond that, actually Apple insert the 'hidden message' that can only be seen by thorough users, or who have excessive free time to investigate. But you don't need to investigate it one by one, because this article will discuss specifically.

Mail Icon

Mail Application has a very nice icon, that is eagle stamp, and at the bottom left corner there is postmarked with the Apple logo, and the word 'Hello from Cupertino', in which Cupertino is a city in the U.S. where Apple firm stood.

Dictionary Icon

This Big red dictionary, apart from the larga letter Aa, also has a small writing that reads 'Lorem Ipsum dolor Sit Amet Etiam', meaning 'love pain because it is a pain, and so on', from the Latin word is taken from De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum by Cicero. The word is often used also in visual design.

Apple Java Icon

Java does not belong to Apple, but you can program Java-based applications  on Macs. The icon is a cup of black coffee on a piece of paper, and there is a pencil that was writing a line of code in the Java programming language, namely:
main (){
}
public sta

Stickies Icon

Stickies application  has a few streaks on its paper, among others, the name 'Lou' and the phone number 555-7361. No. 555 itself indicates that he is a mere fictional character. 'Eggs' and 'Milk'?  Not much  explanation  for this, unless perhaps the two are Steve Jobs's favorite foods.

Keynote 2008 icon

This application  is a part of iWork, the icon is a lecture table on which there is a piece of paper that read reports Q4 2008, but the fine print  below it  reads:

"God, I dreamed there was an angel Who could hear me through the wall As I cried out-like, in Latin "This is so not life at all Help me out-out-of this nightmare"

Then I heard her silver call- She said: "Just give it time, kid I come to one and all"

She said: "Give me that hand, please And the itch you can't control Let me teach you how to handle All the sadness in your soul Oh, we'll work that silver magic Then we'll aim it at the wall" She said: "Love may make you blind kid-But I wouldn't mind at all"

It's the bitch of living (Bitch, just a bitch) With nothing but your hand (Just a bitch, yeah) Just the bitch of living As someone you can't stand See, each night, it's like fantastic- Tossing, turning, without rest"
These lines  are fragments of song The Bitch of Living from Spring Awakening concert music. What is the purpose behind it, still no one can explain, unless Apple's own.

Photo Booth Icon

If you frequently use Photo Booth to take pictures of  yourself  via the  iSight  camera  on the  MacBook, you may find the images of women in  the icon. The glasses Women is one of the Photo Booth developers (application developer).

Aparture Icon

Details of lenses made by Apple's design experts was amazing. In addition,  they add writing around it like a real lens, which reads: "Designed by Apple in California" and also "50mm 1:1.4". There is no special meaning behind it, but it just shows their attention to detail.

iCal (Calendar) Icon

In the iCal icon, the date will change to follow system's date. But if you look in the Applications folder, there's iCal with the default icon that reads Jul 17. This is the date when iCal was first introduced, July 17, 2002.

Windows Computer Icon

Access your network at home or at office. If you see a Windows-based computers in a network, you'll see the monitor tube with blue and white text in the middle. It is a appearance of  the 'Blue  Screen  Of Death' which is very famous when a PC is error.

TextEdit icon

Not surprising that  TextEdit  has the longest words among  others. That paragraph is a letter from John Appleseed for Kate, which is a script from 'The Crazy Ones', Apple promotional text in 1997-2000.


Maps in iOS icon


On your iPhone or IPAD, there is Maps icon, which looks like a road map, with symbols and numbers 280. That is a map of Number 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, which is none other than Apple's main office address, with the entry gate is marked by a needle / pin, and the symbol indicates Interstate 280.

Calculator Icon

The calculator has usual icon, but there are number 12374218.75  on its screen. The purpose of this number is still speculative. But there is something interesting. If you enter the number "12 374 218.75" (following a space, without quotation marks) into Google Maps or Google Earth, then the location will be shown is: Dell Incorporated, Texas.

Artists Icon in iOS

In the iPod application on your iPhone or IPAD, you can see Artists' icon which symbolized by silhouette of someone who sang in front of the  microphone. That none other than silhouette of Bono, lead singer of music group U2.



iCalendar icon in iOS

Almost similar with the iCal in Mac OS, it turns out  the Calendar application in IOS also have puzzle. When you get the default icon set (from SDK), then the calendar will be shown Tuesday 9. The date indicates when the iPhone was first introduced, 9 January 2007, on Tuesday.(Macworld/roc)



Sumber : Macworld Indonesia