Where OS X 'Big Cat' code names REALLY come from
OK, so imagine this: You're Apple Computer, Inc. (still) and it's December 1997. You've just blocked British Mac-clone maker Shaye from licensing Mac OS 8, thereby putting it pretty much out of luck for new products; in fact, Shaye will revert to selling genuine Apple gear at the end of the year. Still, there's something kind of catchy about Shaye's branding... something vaguely feline: Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Lion and Lynx. Nice ring to those "big cat" names. Mrowr!Update: Ola and other commenters note that the Mac OS X names also match up with the names of German tanks and AFVs, which is a wee bit more disturbing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex Cormier said 12:20PM on 3-10-2007
:O only two OS X editions left? I'm not ready for OS XI
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zoi said 12:50PM on 3-10-2007
And what about WWII German tanks Panther, Tiger and Leopard, as well as the Cheetah AAC vehicle and the Puma APC?
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Craig Knighton said 12:51PM on 3-10-2007
The website for shaye.co.uk is now part of a search site it seems, but references to it can be found in forum posts dated 2002/2003.
Seems to be typical of modern computer firms though. Destroy and then amalgamate the pieces you like?
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Ola said 1:24PM on 3-10-2007
I have to agree with zoi on this one. The german tanks theory is way cooler :)
A while back I wrote this blog post on the subject:
http://ormset.no/wordpress/?p=152
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Rachel said 2:06PM on 3-10-2007
I'm still holding out for Sandcat. Be an excellent name for the iPhone edition, maybe, or one of those extreme-mobile devices people are rumouring about.
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dunk said 2:08PM on 3-10-2007
in addition to the tanks, and cloned machines, there's a species of animal called felines which also includes the genus tiger, leopard, cheetah, puma and panther. maybe that's where the apple engineers got it from?
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power!!!! said 2:39PM on 3-10-2007
Did you know that they're all considered Panthers? And that Cougars and Pumas are one in the same?
I watch too much Animal Planet..
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GermanReader said 3:09PM on 3-10-2007
Puleeezeee ... if you start naming your products after big cats, you sort of inevitably of end up with the same names - be it computers, operating systems or tanks (of any nationality). So what's the deal?!
And BTW: One of the biggest tanks ever made by the Germans in WWII was called 'Mouse'. Now what?!
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koz1000 said 3:20PM on 3-10-2007
Let's just hope they don't switch to dogs when they run out of cat names.
WWDC 2014, Featuring Weimaraner!
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Shunnabunich said 3:23PM on 3-10-2007
Maybe successive versions of OS X mini (as I like to call the iPhone's OS) should have domestic cat names, like Tabby, Abyssinian and Maine Coon. :P
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cyfer said 3:27PM on 3-10-2007
Grumman made planes named Cheetah, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Couger... There was no leopard though.
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Michael Rose said 4:00PM on 3-10-2007
#11 -- That's the best idea. AppleTV, powered by Mac OS X Calico; iPhone II, running new OS X Domestic Shorthair...
Uh-oh. My eyes are getting itchy -- achoo!
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Cheeseburger Brown said 4:32PM on 3-10-2007
Your comments: Alex Cormier said, "I'm not ready for OS XI."
Yeah, but this Mac goes
up to ELEVEN.
It's like, one more different.When most operating
systems have gone up to ten and they're like, "Where can we go from
here?" this operating system has the answer: it goes up to
eleven.
Love,
Cheeseburger Brown
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Bambino said 5:28PM on 3-10-2007
@Cheeseburger Brown:
What... the... muck?
@Alex Cormier:
C'mon cheer up guy/girl! It's still around 4 years away, if we're still missing to 10.x versions!
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Danny Cohen said 6:06PM on 3-10-2007
yeah, this is hardly news. They got the code names from the idea of using cats, not some company.
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Dave Barnes said 6:25PM on 3-10-2007
@CheesburgerBrown
Eleven. I love it. That is one of the funniest movie bits ever.
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Ola said 6:34PM on 3-10-2007
GermanReader says that "And BTW: One of the biggest tanks ever made by the Germans in WWII was called 'Mouse'. Now what?!" - Well, haven't you heard of Apples Mighty Mouse? It all fits together ;)
http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/
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Reg Muffet said 6:35PM on 3-10-2007
I wonder what the codename for the iPhone OS X is?
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Catt said 8:26PM on 3-10-2007
This whole thing just cracks me up :-)
Very interesting posts and answers and I enjoyed reading Ola's blog on the subject.
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anono-miser said 12:13AM on 3-11-2007
OSX was cheetah cause it was so much faster than the beta. And we went from there.
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