The PC's Soviet?

From: Doug Spence <ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca>
Date: Wed Apr 29 23:46:11 1998

On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, Ward Donald Griffiths III wrote:

> Doug Spence wrote:
> >
> > On Wed, 22 Apr 1998, Max Eskin wrote:
> >
> > > >> There were all kinds of small Apple cloners around, with various Apple
> > > >> variety and fruit names ("Granny Smith", "McIntosh", "Pear", etc.). The
> > >
> > > Any lawsuits there with that second item?
> >
> > No, as far as I know, McIntosh didn't sue Apple for using such a similar
> > name to theirs. :)
> >
> > Maybe that's why Apple changed the spelling! :)
>
> Apple used the spelling I learned from my grandmother for the breed
> of fruit grown most often in her part of New Hampshire. Well, my
> part too during my high school years -- a hell of a place to dump an
> unsuspecting Angeleno kid.

Up here we spell it "McIntosh", after the apple's discoverer, John
McIntosh of Ontario. We pronounce it "MacIntosh", though. And when
speaking, it's often abbreviated to just "Mac". McIntosh apples in the
local grocery store bear stickers that read "McIntosh". Also, my uncle
has an apple orchard and he sells Macs as well as other varieties. So I
contend that Apple Computer Inc. has mispelled the name, or has named the
computer for something else. Perhaps it was starting its
"scientist/apple" naming sceme. :)

I don't know how the folks in New Hampshire spell the name of the (fruit)
apple variety. I'll have to take your word for it that they spell it
"Macintosh". As with many family names, there are multiple spellings for
the same pronunciation. But the man the apple variety is named after
seems to be "McIntosh".

Does anyone know what Apple Computer's intentions were, if any, with the
spelling of "Macintosh"?


Doug Spence
ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca
Received on Wed Apr 29 1998 - 23:46:11 BST