Apple’s new iMac keyboards have done away with the Apple key (or “Open Apple Key”) in what seems to presage the fate of all Apple keys on Mac keyboards. Although a few days have passed, we wouldn’t feel right without observing a moment of silence:
See Apple’s new keyboards, sans Apple logo on the Command Key, here.
MacDailyNews Note: We still hold a special place in our hearts for the “Closed Apple Key.”
Removing the Apple from the Command key makes sense from Apple’s perspective, as it would only help further ease the minds of nervous potential switchers – “Uhh, what’s that ‘weird” key?” You can bet they hear that in the Apple Retails Stores pretty often. (The new key still has the “splat” on it (thankfully), but adds the word “command.”) Still, we wish that Apple would to give us Mac users an optional key with the Apple on it!
The very first Macs, by the way, didn’t have an “Apple” on the Command key. Macs began featuring the Apple logo on the key in 1986.
Two a Day explains “Why the Apple/Command Key Finally Lost Its Apple” here.
What has replaced that key?
this is almost as sad as when they retired Clarus.
Moof.
RIP…
It was never “the Apple key”, it was always the Command key…
U didnt owned or pwned u got zune.
Your Potential. Our Passion™
(silence)
They’ve replaced the apple with the word Command.
That’s it, im taking a stand.
or… perhaps you could all buy my new Apple Key Decal Kit for only $19.95.
Yeah, a sad day indeed. I still miss the rainbow Apple logo… what with being an old hippy an’ all…
The original Macintosh keyboard did not have an Apple logo on it, so Apple’s just kickin’ it old school now. The Apple was put on the Command key for Apple ][ considerations, not Mac. I like the change!
@Denny:
The key (and its functions) are still there; they just removed the and replaced it with the word “Command.”
I got the new iMac last night. Love everything except typing on the Chiclet keys.
Many years ago it was “the Apple key”. Back in the days of the Apple II and AppleBasic, documentation refered to the “Open Apple Key” and the “Closed Apple Key”.
Always been the Command key for me.
@Winston – you don’t like the keyboard? Any particular reason?
I’ll miss the key. It’s iconic.
Thank heavens! After 20 years of trying to explain “hit the Command key, you know, that key with the funny little squiggle symbol … no, not the option key, that key without a name ….”
For a company with a reputation for the world’s most user-friendly UIs, this was a real stroke of genius: actually put the name of the key on the key.
This is a keyboard aimed at the entire computer industry!
1) ipod
2) itunes
3) Videopod
4) AppleTv
5) iphone
6) Mac mini
7) keyboards
8) Monitors
9) Camera’s
10) Universal remote controller (Mac, Pc,Tv, Stereo, Car stero etc)
11) Printers
12) Scanners + Fax
Get the idea? Hence the name change to Apple inc.
I always hated it when people referred to that key as the “Apple Key” or the even more retarded sounding “Open Apple Key”.
takethat is correct
It is correctly called the Command key and has been from the beginning.. It is only called the Apple key by some switcher/newbies and youngsters in the crowd.
I think it is time that we true Mac users quit inviting windoze people to our party. I am getting tired of the crap they drag along with them.
Apple key is for newbs! It wasn’t there on my first Mac…so get used to it! I always thought it looked out of place and was just there to pacify newbs to the platform.
Show some control, home-y. Take a page from a new generation and you’ll function just fine. So, no option for the alt-ernate way? Enter a new world with better returns for a shifting business. And if you feel num, lock on to the new end game.
This will make it much easier to explain to people what key to hit.
The new keyboard is a joy to use by the way. Excellent tactile feedback, short stroke, nice matte feel, nipples where they’re supposed to be and having it this slim and close to the table top makes it more comfortable to type on.
A very nice design.
I just wish the keys were ‘light up” like the MBP’s.
I think it’s a simple matter of eliminating confusion caused by redundancy. In all the documentation, the key was always referred to as the “command” key, not the Apple key. The Apple logo never showed up in menu items, and therefore, it was nothing more than an unnecessary decoration. But, since so many people mistakenly call it the “Apple key” instead of the command key, they probably figured they could put the issue to rest by eliminating the Apple logo. Makes sense to me. They’ve always called it “command,” so they should stick to that. Open- and Closed-Apple keys were on the Apple ///. How many of you remember that one?
Hey Twisted Mac Freak,
Why don’t you take your BIOS and shove it up your CMOS !
it’s a good decision, it’s called the command key, not the apple key, and this will make it more obvious.
i guess apple its going to make a printer without keys and its compatible with actual airports.
To: @ Twisted Mac Freak
You must be one bored mother.
Well it’s still on my MBP, and as my son is using a TiBook that is in its 7th year that Apple logo will still be around when Microsoft slips below the waves…
How can we cut, copy and paste now? No more Apple+X, Apple+C, Apple+V…
I can’t use my computer anymore… :((((
I’m not happy about this.
Don’t miss it. The Apple logo should have been removed years ago, served no useful purpose, created confusion, and I believe it also cheapened the Apple logo.
The inclusion of the word “command” on the key is also welcome.
I think they should have put the “option” symbol on the Option key, and same for Shift (since they use symbols rather than words in the menus).
@coolfactor:
There’s not enough tactile feedback to identify whether or not your fingers are squarely on the keys. Because the key surfaces are flat, I find my fingers tend to slide off more easily. On keyboards with concave-surfaced keys, your fingers tend to migrate to the center of the key just by feel. The keyboard redesign feels more like it was done for style at the expense of function. I’ll probably get used to it, but I’m hanging onto my old keyboard just in case. Definitely not a dealbreaker either way.
about time.
command is better.
They should put the shift, control, alt, etc. symbols on the keys as well to better help with hot keys. As a switcher it is a bit confusing looking at the hotkey buttons in the pull down menu.
wtf…
So I can post on Windows and IE but when I use Safari I get this…
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Spudley’s right. Newbs, all of you! The original 128k Mac only had a a cloverleaf on its single command key! Nary an Apple in sight. Proof? OK:
And the Apple II line didn’t have “apple” keys either until the //c and late-rev Apple //e came out.
I’ve always hated that Apple on the key, and thought it was confusing. It shoulda just been called the Command key, with just a cloverleaf symbol on it. Although, the new keyboard with both “Command” and the cloverleaf on the key is still better.
So, good-bye, and good riddance, Apple Key!
It’s just a freaking key. GET OVER IT.
I am sitting here and staring at my apple key. When the f*&# did I find out it was command? It doesn’t even say what the hell it is!!!
It’s the dreaded windows start key for you bootcampers.
friz-b
Added in 1986? That explains everything! It was added AFTER Steve left Apple. The Apple key’s days on the Mac were numbered from the day Steve returned. I’m surprised it took this long.
All kidding aside, it does make since from a Windows switcher point of view.
er, make that sense.
I’m turned on (and off) waiting for a binary keyboard.
Sorry Nic but my Apple //e Enhanced also had “open” and “closed” Apple keys. And Spudly, the Apple logo was probably added to the key to pacify those of us in the Apple ][ Forever camp, if you want to us “newbs” thats your prerogative. My peers used the term “open-apple” “closed-apple” instead of “command”. The “open” apple key was program function key strokes (i.e. commands), the “closed” apple key was system related. Ah, the good old days.
open-apple Q
Buy a UK keyboard – the Apple key ia alive and well and on the new aluminium keyboard at the Apple Store, Meadowhall, Sheffield:-)
What next firewire?
control, open apple, reset… forevah.
Oh yeah TMF? I’m 1 and 0 waiting for the glass top keyboard. Imagine, a software driven keyboard that can change functions depending on the application. Like the iPhone, except bigger. Who needs tactile response anymore? That would beat the hell out of a touch screen…
I think this goes too far. Most of my keyboards are third-party deals, so I’m not crushed, just a bit disappointed. Someone will make money in the apple keyboard decal business, though.
Forever
Ah yes, another nail in the coffin for the beleaguered Apple Co. Don’t believe the marketing hype. This will make it easier for Mr. Steve Jobs to finally do what he’s wanted to do all along, run the superior Vista platform on his brand new Macs. Alas, the end is nigh for Mac OSX. This is merely the first step.
I never got calling the Command key the Apple key.
But, WHERE does the Command key symbol come from?
Why not get rid of THAT and keep the Apple?
I knew some people who called the Command Key… get this… the CHIGGER Key! Yeah, WTF? I guess they thought it looked like a tick or… a chigger.
MDN Magic Word: THINGS will never be the same!
I’d buy a decal. I’ll never give up on the Apple key…never
I always hated that apple key. It doesn’t make sense… when you have some people calling it command and some calling it Open Apple.
It was retarded and confusing, something that Apple generally isn’t.
“And the Apple II line didn’t have ‘apple’ keys either until the //c and late-rev Apple //e came out.”
…and the IIgs, which is where it came from.
Essentially, Apple wanted to be able to use ADB on both it’s Macintosh and Apple II lines. Of course, the problem was that the Apple II had this “Apple” key (with the Apple logo) while Macintosh just had a “Command” key. So the solution was to put both on the key so that Apple II users and Macintosh users would be able to find the appropriate key depending on what they saw on the screen.
Why was it kept? Mostly because it was easier to explain to people that the “command key” was the one with the little Apple on it (versus the “cloverleaf”).
By the way, the “command key” can also be found on signs in Sweden–it denotes a “place of interest.”
R.I.P. Good old friend…Thanks for everything!
The Apple key was the command key for the Lisa. The Lisa OS’s menus displayed the apple prominently in the keyboard shortcuts. After the Lisa’s demise, the key was carried over onto the Macintosh.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…………
i am not really concerned over whether the key has an or not, but….
to all the people who say it was confusing to people when you tried to name the key or tell them what to press… what kind of idiots are you dealing with? you couldn’t say the ‘apple’ key because the big ‘apple’ wasn’t obvious enough?
i mean, i have some bad tech help stories, but……
“It was never “the Apple key”, it was always the Command key…”
It’s to easy your migration. In the next generation of Macs it’ll be the Windows key.
“It’s to easy your migration.”
Here’s a hint. Correct spelling is more convincing.
Idiot.
In ’86, as has been mentioned, the open-apple glyph was added to the command key.
The reason was that with the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) serial connection–first introduced on the Apple IIgs, and subsequently added to the Mac line with the SE and II–Apple started selling keyboards that could be used on either of their product lines.
Apple II users expected the open- and closed-apple glyphs, while Mac users expected the splat glyph and Option. IIRC, the Apple II users bitched mightily about closed-apple becoming Option.
I’m surprised it’s taken this long for open-apple to be removed. ADB and Apple IIs have both been gone for quite a while.
Damn, I’m old…
…and yes, there are several //es, a IIgs, a Mac SE, and a Mac II sitting out in the garage.
That old.
open apple and closed apple!!!!!!
On a related note, my new iMac ordered online was delayed for one month because apparently the new wireless keyboard is NOT ready. I had to cancel the wireless keyboard option and go with the wired keyboard to get the system to ship by next week. Just another failure of Apple to release everything together, just like the bluetooth headset for the iPhone which also wasn’t ready for prime time when the iPhone was released. You think Apple would have made this clear at or just after the event, but alas, who knows the mind of Apple these days. The bungle will cost me at least $50 extra to get the wireless keyboard later. Sigh.
“Here’s a hint. Correct spelling is more convincing.”
Here’s something obvious, the spelling is correct, it’s the grammar that’s wrong.
That makes you a complete retard, criticizing but not knowing the difference…
Never mind the missing Apple key, what’s with the BLACK Apple logo?
To the Chinese and Japanese, black means death. Guess Steve Jobs is not into Zen as much as people say.
A
” rel=”nofollow”>closed Apple key photo would have been cool.
To @Karma (Dogma):
No, it’s not the grammar. It’s the spelling of “easy”.
“It’s to easy your migration.” should be “It’s to ease your migration.”
Now please STFU, asshole. You just missed the last homeroom bell.
@Karma and Dogma
Both of you are idiots. It is not incorrect grammar or spelling. It is an incorrect use of a word. Easy was spelled right, it was just not the right word to use. So both of you STFU.
for a hard core mac it will be always the Apple key … who needs to translate that to windows dictionary …. let them to adapt to Apple world … next they will put the HD and recycle bin at the left side and all the crap from windows world
what’s next?? i don’t want to be customized to windows world … if they want to get a mac so be a mac … apple key is apple key … this is my special elitist bubble
“next they will put the HD and recycle bin at the left side and all the crap from windows world”
And soon they’ll start using a lot of transparency in the UI and a green grassy looking background.
One day, I even predict that Apple will ship software for the Mac which turns it into a standard Windows PC.
Save the Apple key:
http://apfeltaste.wordpress.com/
I’m glad I live outside USA.
Here we keep the Apple key.
ehehehehehe