10 Hidden Easter Eggs in macOS

[MacRumors]

In computing lore, an Easter egg typically refers to a secret message, image, or feature intentionally left in software, often (but not always) hidden in plain sight. Since the 1970s, programmers have used them to credit unheralded developers, reference pop culture, sneak games into productivity apps, and generally inject a little bit of humanity into their code.

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When Apple was a fledgling company, Mac developers regularly left fun little Easter eggs in software, but not so much these days. While surprises can still be found, they are a lot more subtle and sober, and exist more as a nod and wink to Apple's origins rather than anything edgy or unauthorized. Here are some of our favorite remaining Easter eggs in macOS.

1. EP Record Profile Picture

Open System Settings -> Users & Groups, then click on your login profile picture. If you click Suggestions, you'll find a bunch of classic profile avatars, including a vinyl record.

It's not obvious at this scale, but the four listed music tracks in this EP are unequivocally a tribute to Steve Jobs's favorite expressions: 1. Magic, 2. Revolution, 3. Boom, and 4. Unbelievable.

2. Incomplete Download Creation Date

Try downloading a file (any file) from a trusted place on the internet, but pause the download midway through. Now right-click on the partially downloaded file and select Get Info.

Note the file's creation date, January 24, 1984. That's no error: It's the date Steve Jobs formally unveiled the first Macintosh. Let the download complete, and the file's true creation date will replace it.

3. Sosumi

In the late 1980s, Jim Reekes began working as a sound designer for Apple, creating some of the Mac's most iconic sounds like the "Sosumi" beep, startup chord, and camera/screenshot click. The reason for the name "Sosumi" was due to a lawsuit from The Beatles' record label, also named Apple. At the time, Steve Jobs promised that his company would stay focused on computers and not get involved with music, so that the two similarly named companies could coexist.

After Macs added support for audio recording and MIDI (a standard that connects musical instruments to computers), The Beatles sued and forced Reekes to rename any sound effect that had a "musical-sounding name." Reekes' frustration with the lawsuit eventually led him to the name "Sosumi," because it sounded like "so sue me." He told the lawyers it was a Japanese word that didn't mean anything musical.

In macOS Big Sur and later, the Sosumi alert sound appears in System Preferences/Settings -> Sound with an alternative name: "Sonumi." But look for the sound file in /System/Library/Sounds/ and you'll find that it's still named "Sosumi.aiff." Sneaky.

4. Blue Screen of Death

Apple and Microsoft have generally maintained a friendly relationship over the decades, but neither company is averse to an occasional dig directed at its biggest rival. If your Mac is on a shared network to which a Windows PC could also be connected, try opening Finder and click the Network option in the sidebar, under "Locations."

If a PC is indeed on the network, it will be represented by a vintage-looking computer icon with Microsoft's infamous and frustrating "Blue Screen of Death" (BSoD) displayed on the screen. The location of the icon's file "public.generic-pc.icns" is in /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources.

5. Here's to the crazy ones

Apple's iconic "Think Different" marketing campaign will be remembered by many, not least for its Steve Jobs quote, which goes like this:
"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: 10 Hidden Easter Eggs in macOS

 

[LimeiBook86]

The Sosumi story gets better with some added context and Jim wanting to name a sound "Let It Beep" (a play on the Beatles song & album, "Let it Be"). Here's a snippet from Wikipedia:

When new sounds for System 7 were created, the sounds were reviewed by Apple's Legal Department who objected that the new sound alert "chime" had a name that was "too musical", under the recent settlement. Jim Reekes, the creator of the new sound alerts for System 7, had grown frustrated with the legal scrutiny and first quipped it should be named "Let It Beep", a pun on "Let It Be". When someone remarked that that would not pass the Legal Department's approval, he remarked, "so sue me". After a brief reflection, he resubmitted the sound's name as sosumi (a homophone of "so sue me"). Careful to submit it in written form rather than spoken form to avoid pronunciation, he told the Legal Department that the name was Japanese and had nothing to do with music.

 

[DMG35]

I love these types of articles MR. Well done.

 

[Onimusha370]

Yeah what a great article - had no idea about most of these. Thankyou.

 

[Kurt871]

Anyone know what that keyboard is in the YouTube thumbnail?

 

[jacobweber]

Some pretty corporate easter eggs, but it's nice to know that they still exist.

 

[n-evo]

I feel like this is a bit of an easter egg as well: The Finder about window still calling the "Mac" a "Macintosh". It must be one of the few places within macOS where you'll still find that terminology, maybe the only spot even.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Anyone know what that keyboard is in the YouTube thumbnail?

Looks like this

https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/products/keyboards/mx-mechanical-mini-mac.html

 

[jayducharme]

That was a lot of fun! In another Beatles connection, I had heard a rumor long ago that the original Mac startup sound was supposed to be an homage to the opening chord of "Hard Day's Night". But I'm not sure that's accurate.

 

[Tom!]

Anyone know what that keyboard is in the YouTube thumbnail?

Yes, it is a device with buttons that can be pressed to control a personal computer.

 

[ignatius345]

Apple's iconic "Think Different" marketing campaign will be remembered by many, not least for its Steve Jobs quote, which goes like this:
"Here’s to the crazy ones.

You can also find this in the icon for files set to open with TextEdit:

 

[groove-agent]

Very interesting article. I enjoyed it.

When I read stuff about Steve, it really makes me miss him. He was such a character that would push the boundaries, challenge the way we think about things and what we were capable of. He always inspired me.

 

[emlarsen]

This article should identify the nerds who found all of this 💩

Said with the utmost respect.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Excellent article! Great job! ⭐

I learned a lot. So much interesting information here.

 

[rishey]

Bring back the talking moose!

 

[Graphikos]

I think the audio waveform easter egg was my favorite. I assume the Maps icon is still around 1 Infinite Loop also.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I have a feeling in the future we will be able to find referencing Apple Vision Pro. 🥽

Spatial Computing.

 

[Iscariote]

I assume the Maps icon is still around 1 Infinite Loop also.

I believe it's now shifted to be the new Apple Park. The blue arrow is "driving" north on N Wolfe Rd crossing 280, with the circular spaceship on the upper right.

 

[Icelus]

A Haiku can be found if Rosetta is installed on an Apple Silicon.

$ cat /Library/Apple/usr/share/rosetta/rosetta

translation is done
as preferred long in advance

rosetta idles

 

[winxmac]

Anyone wanting to try all these on every macOS version since 2001?

 

[Icelus]

The Bitcoin white paper published in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto is a sample document.

$ open '/System/Library/Image Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf'

 

[pdaholic]

Very cool! Thanks Dan!

 

[Attirex]

Just makes me nostalgic for the Days of Jobs. Time marches on.

 

[verniesgarden]

I feel like this is a bit of an easter egg as well: The Finder about window still calling the "Mac" a "Macintosh". It must be one of the few places within macOS where you'll still find that terminology, maybe the only spot even.

"Macintosh HD" is another

 

[notai]

The Bitcoin white paper published in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto is a sample document.

$ open '/System/Library/Image Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf'

"Apple quietly removed the Virtual Scanner II app and, with it, the Bitcoin whitepaper in the latest macOS Ventura 13.4 beta."