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Cult of Mac editor-in-chief Leander Kahney quizzes managing editor Lewis Wallace and writer D. Griffin Jones on Apple history trivia.
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0:00
[Music]
0:01
All right, let's try. We got a new
0:02
section uh right now which um is an
0:05
Apple trivia quiz called Apple Genius.
0:08
And
0:08
oh no,
0:09
I know this is going to be a total
0:10
disaster, but let's give it a try. So,
0:13
what I figured uh we should do is I'll
0:15
ask a it's a six questions and I think
0:18
you two have to compete to to answer,
0:20
right? So, let's do it like with a
0:22
buzzer, but we don't have buzzers. So
0:23
you'll have to go or make a buzzer sound
0:26
and then I will turn to that person to
0:29
give the answer and if they're wrong
0:31
then the other person gets a chance to
0:33
get the right answer.
0:35
I don't like my odds right now.
0:36
Yeah. And there there's six questions. I
0:39
actually I ran this through Gemini. So
0:41
um the first one was really easy like
0:43
So the questions are going to be wrong.
0:45
No. Well, we'll see. We'll see.
0:46
No, the questions will be wrong. Uh
0:48
questions will be right. The answers
0:49
will be I I should just say before we
0:50
start, um maybe this will just make it
0:53
more embarrassing if I if I if I do end
0:55
up losing this, but I should say I'm not
0:56
terribly scared of losing to Lewis. What
0:59
I'm most scared about is uh losing to
1:02
myself, not being as happy with my
1:04
performance and it
1:05
just like in darts, you're playing the
1:07
board, not the opponent. That's a good
1:08
approach.
1:10
But uh yeah, geez, I don't know. I'm
1:13
very trepidacious about this because you
1:15
whatever the question is, you're
1:16
probably going to say, "Oh, wait. I have
1:18
one of those over here in the drawer. Oh
1:20
yeah, this is the third generation
1:21
Pippen. You know,
1:22
I I did some I did some studying when he
1:24
said that we were going to do this as a
1:25
segment, but we'll see.
1:26
Oh my god, he's been boning up.
1:29
Okay, this is the expert one and then
1:30
we'll move to the insane difficult one
1:32
later.
1:33
Okay,
1:33
right after this. Okay, so uh the first
1:36
question is the original Apple 1
1:38
computer was sold for a very specific
1:40
somewhat controversial price. What was
1:42
it?
1:44
I know it.
1:45
Lewis got beat you there. Louis, what is
1:47
it?
1:48
$666.
1:51
Oh, there we go. Griffin got the answer
1:53
there. Okay, one down to Griffin.
1:55
Hold on. I better make a list here. Who
1:58
got what?
1:59
I should have rung in before you
2:01
finished reading the question.
2:05
Yeah, exactly. Okay, next question.
2:08
Okay. Who was the father of the
2:10
Macintosh who originally started the
2:11
project before Steve Jobs took it over?
2:13
Jeff Raskin.
2:15
Well done, Griffin.
2:16
I knew that when I just didn't get the
2:18
buzzer in time.
2:19
Okay,
2:19
you got to get a triangle.
2:21
Yeah. All right.
2:23
Looks unnecessarily
2:24
uh because he was such a fan of
2:26
simplicity changed his name so it only
2:28
had one F.
2:30
Really?
2:31
Yep.
2:32
That's not That's not uh
2:33
That is true.
2:35
Now, that is a question for a future
2:37
quiz if you're not competing. And here's
2:40
a I've got I've got a I'll I'll save my
2:44
knowledge in case it comes up.
2:47
Okay, next question. Question number
2:50
three. Which short-lived gaming console
2:52
did Apple release in the mid 1990s?
2:54
The Apple Pippen.
2:55
[Laughter]
2:57
All right. Correct. Griffin's running
3:00
away with this quiz. Lewis, you got up
3:01
again.
3:03
Okay.
3:03
Well, he just blurted it out. I think my
3:05
buzzer was faster than his his ring.
3:06
That dinged.
3:08
That dinged. Um, next question. This
3:10
question number four. What is the name
3:12
of the dog cow mascot that appeared in
3:14
the classic M page setup?
3:18
Oh my god, this is a sweep. Lewis, you
3:21
might go to darts, but
3:24
all right, number five. Who served as
3:26
Apple's CEO immediately prior to Steve
3:28
Jobs return as interim CO in 1997?
3:31
Lewis. Okay, Louis. Who is it?
3:33
Immed Scully.
3:35
Oh, no. Wrong.
3:37
No, wait. Totally wrong.
3:38
Oh. Oh, right.
3:40
Skully was the second CEO. The one
3:42
before him was Jill Gilio.
3:44
Okay. Griffin.
3:46
Is that the guy who was right there that
3:48
what was I didn't actually hear the
3:50
whole question. What was the whole
3:50
question?
3:51
Who served as Apple CEO immediately
3:53
prior to Steve Joel's return as interim
3:55
CEO in 1997? And and and Griffin got the
3:58
right answer. Gil.
3:58
Was it was it Gilio?
4:00
Yeah. Gilamelio.
4:02
All right. The horrible. Yeah. Okay.
4:04
Yeah. God damn it.
4:05
The uh what they call him the turn. He
4:07
was a what was his nickname? He was a
4:08
turnaround artist.
4:10
Um had a reput he thinking of the guy
4:13
who is called the diesel.
4:15
That was
4:16
Michael, right?
4:19
Um
4:19
I don't know. I just I always heard him
4:21
Amelio referred to as a turnaround
4:23
artist.
4:24
Yeah. But well, I guess he did I mean
4:26
kind of somewhat true except it was
4:27
Steve Jobs. He did the turnaround, but
4:29
he did bring Steve Jobs back.
4:31
Mhm. um which um for which he will
4:34
always be Apple fans will forever be
4:36
grateful to him for doing that.
4:38
Um but he spent more time overhauling
4:40
the bathroom um in the executive offices
4:44
than uh than turning the company around.
4:46
All right, ready? Uh the final question
4:49
uh question number six. Before Swift was
4:52
introduced in 2014, what was the primary
4:55
programming used in iOS and Mac OS
4:57
development?
4:58
What is it?
4:59
Objective C. Correct.
5:02
All right.
5:03
I would have never gotten that one.
5:04
So, Lewis, uh, I'm afraid you have zero
5:06
points.
5:07
Goose egg. Yay.
5:09
And Griffin. Griffin sweep the the board
5:11
there with six points. All right. Let's
5:13
try the insane difficulty Apple trivia.
5:16
I don't know how much more of this I can
5:17
take.
5:18
This is so much fun, Lewis, that we've
5:20
got to do another one.
5:21
It's
5:22
Maybe you better wait until buzzing
5:24
before until after I finish the
5:25
question.
5:26
Okay.
5:26
Maybe that would help. How did how
5:29
that's not the way game shows work.
5:31
Well, all right, whatever. Um, this is
5:34
this is a test. We're going to see how
5:36
this works if it or if it works or not.
5:38
Um, in the early n Okay, question number
5:40
one. In the early 90s, Apple engineers
5:42
used an the internal kill named Carl
5:44
Sean for the Power Macintosh 7100. After
5:47
Sean issued a cease and desist, what
5:49
spiteful acronym did the engineers
5:51
change the code name to?
5:55
This is Oh. Oh,
5:58
Lewis is in pain right now because this
5:59
is in a Today in Apple history that we
6:01
read.
6:02
I've read this several times
6:05
and I cannot remember what it is. Uh,
6:07
do you want me to give you four multiple
6:08
choices so you can choose?
6:10
Sure.
6:11
Uh, no. Hold on.
6:14
Well, Griffin, do you know
6:15
you know it, Griffin? Is this one that
6:16
you don't know?
6:17
I remember reading the Today in Apple
6:18
history, but you probably read it more
6:20
than I have.
6:21
Yeah,
6:21
so I don't remember it off the top of my
6:22
head.
6:25
I bet I'll bet half the listeners know
6:27
the answers to this.
6:29
This is embarrassing. My goodness me.
6:31
Come on, guys. This cult editor,
6:34
it's something. It's you know something
6:38
astronomer something dumbass astronomer
6:40
or something like that.
6:41
Okay. Getting closer. Getting warm.
6:42
Getting warm.
6:44
What was it? What was the thing that
6:46
What was the question again?
6:47
Uh in the early 90s, Apple engineers
6:49
used the Intel code name Carl Sean for
6:51
the power Macintosh 7100. That was the
6:53
code name for the machine in
6:54
development. So after Seiken issued a
6:55
decease and desist, what spiteful
6:57
acronym did the engineers change the
6:59
code name to?
7:00
Give us multiple choice. Make this a
7:01
multiple choice for
7:02
Okay. CST for Cosmos Star Treker.
7:07
SOS, Sean's own story, DNA, do not
7:12
disturb. I'm sorry. DN D do not disturb
7:15
or B number four. BHA buttthead
7:18
astronomer.
7:19
There we go. Four. It's four.
7:21
All right. Neither of you got that.
7:22
You're both useless.
7:23
That's fair.
7:24
Okay, next one.
7:27
Uh, okay. This is a good This is a good
7:29
one. And this is one I didn't know
7:30
myself. Written by 15-year-old Rich
7:33
Scranter in 1982,
7:36
Elk Cloner is widely considered the
7:39
first computer virus found in the wild.
7:42
Which Apple computer did it target?
7:45
That would have had to be the Apple 2.
7:48
Correct. But he didn't buzz in. But I'll
7:51
give that one to you anyway. Great.
7:52
Okay.
7:52
Because Lewis was obviously struggling
7:54
there.
7:55
It could have been the Apple.
7:58
When did the Apple 3 come out
7:59
81? But nobody had the Apple 3. So,
8:02
right. Who's going to write
8:03
popular enough to be virus?
8:05
Yeah. Honestly, I I was only scared that
8:06
you were going to say no, it was the
8:07
Apple 2e or Apple 2 Plus, but I think
8:10
even the Apple 2e was 1982. So,
8:14
it infected floppy discs on the Apple 2
8:16
operating system. So, um, the part I
8:19
didn't know was that it was the first
8:20
computer virus found in the wild.
8:23
Very cool. Uh, okay. Here's here's one
8:26
that I bet Lewis knows. The 20th
8:29
anniversary Macintosh released in 1997
8:32
featured a unique design by Johnny IV.
8:35
Which nickname was this computer given
8:37
during its development?
8:43
During its development?
8:45
Yeah. What was its nickname?
8:48
Okay, I'll give you I'll give you the
8:49
four choices here. Excalibur,
8:52
Spartacus, Odyssey, or Pomona.
8:55
Excalibur, Spartacus, Odyssey, Pomona.
9:00
Pomona is actually the name of a
9:02
different unreleased Apple product, a
9:05
code name of a different concept that
9:06
they had. I'm going to say
9:10
Spartacus sounds vaguely familiar. So,
9:12
I'm going to guess Spartacus. Lewis,
9:14
I would guess Excalibur. All right.
9:17
Unfortunately for you, Lewis is right.
9:20
God dang it.
9:21
Oh my goodness me. This is
9:23
Even when he doesn't know, he gets
9:24
lucky.
9:26
I
9:26
I thought the answer to that I thought
9:27
the question was going to be uh how were
9:30
they delivered?
9:32
Ah, that's a that would have been a good
9:33
question. That would be by concier.
9:36
Yeah, a dude in a tuxedo.
9:38
Wasnack. And how many does Wasnak have?
9:40
That's another good question.
9:43
How many of those does he have? Yeah, he
9:44
has a personal collection of
9:45
he he was gifted one on stage at an
9:47
Apple event that I know for sure.
9:50
I have no idea. 20.
9:52
Several, I believe. But he actually I
9:54
think he came out in an interview and
9:55
said how many he had, but it was and it
9:56
was kind of embarrassingly
9:58
quite a lot.
9:59
And and I know that Gilamelio as part of
10:01
his exit package as he was being pushed
10:03
out of the door of the company because
10:04
the 20th anniversary Mac was his like
10:06
pet project, he requested that he be
10:07
given a new one.
10:09
Yeah. And it did. It had a built it had
10:11
a subwoofer, didn't it? separate
10:12
subwoofer. Kind of a cool idea for the
10:14
top.
10:14
A subwoofer built into its power supply.
10:17
Yeah.
10:17
Yeah.
10:18
And a and a built-in CD player, too,
10:20
wasn't it? So he could function as his
10:22
home stereo.
10:24
Johnny IV special. That was one of his
10:25
first projects when he when he got hired
10:27
at Apple.
10:29
All right, fourth question.
10:31
Oh my god.
10:32
When the Apple Lisa was released,
10:34
marketing claimed LISA was an acronym.
10:37
What did it stand for?
10:40
Logical integrated system architecture.
10:44
No.
10:45
Oh,
10:46
close.
10:47
Something integrated system
10:49
architecture.
10:50
H.
10:52
Which letter do I have?
10:53
Local.
10:55
The sword.
10:57
Oh, logical integrated software
10:59
architecture.
11:01
That's right. All right. So, one more.
11:04
I'm gonna go back to bed.
11:08
This apparently this is they called it a
11:10
backronym.
11:11
Mhm.
11:11
And it was invented to deny rumors. It
11:13
was named after Steve Jobs's daughter.
11:15
That part I
11:16
and Apple employees came up with their
11:18
own acronym for it. There was like
11:19
something lazy something stupid acronym.
11:23
Lazy invented stupid acronym they called
11:25
it.
11:27
You better. Yeah. That was what it
11:29
should have been called.
11:30
Mhm.
11:31
Um yeah. So uh one of the one of the
11:34
other choices there was logic logical
11:35
integrated system architecture. So you
11:37
were very very close there Griffin. Very
11:38
very close but not quite. But you did
11:40
get it in the end. So I'll give you that
11:42
point. I don't know. Should I get in
11:43
that point Lewis? Maybe that seems about
11:46
give it to me.
11:48
You didn't have anything. So I don't
11:49
think you really deserve that.
11:52
All right. Maybe Lewis, here's your last
11:54
last two chances to catch up. Um, what
11:57
was the internal code name for the first
11:58
public beta version of Mac OS 10
12:00
released in September 2000
12:03
for the public beta? Kodiak.
12:06
The internal code name. Good god. What?
12:12
You got it right. I can't believe it.
12:14
What the hell?
12:16
This is insane mode. This is a wash.
12:19
This This thing's a disaster because
12:21
Griffin's just running away with all the
12:22
answers. Okay, last qu uh last question.
12:25
The AIM Alliance was formed in 1991 to
12:28
create the Power PC architecture. Apple
12:30
and IBM were two members. Who was the
12:32
third member of the AIM alliance?
12:34
Motorola.
12:36
[Laughter]
12:38
All right, we have a winner.
12:39
Easy one.
12:40
We have an easy one.
12:41
Oh my god.
12:43
Did you have any clue there, Louis? The
12:45
choices?
12:46
Uh, I would have probably got to that
12:48
eventually.
12:50
Of course, this isn't really fair
12:52
because Louis is at a distinct
12:53
disadvantage. Having won the B- League
12:55
dance championship last night and having
12:58
had a few celebratory drinks is not on
13:00
your not on your toes, right? Not on
13:02
your best form.
13:03
I'm uh I'm a little a little groggy
13:06
still. Didn't get that much sleep last
13:07
night.
13:07
All right. Congratulations, Griffin. You
13:10
got
13:11
You won a new car.
13:13
Yeah. Yeah. Um Yeah. What do you win?
13:17
I've got a I've got an old iPhone case
13:18
around here somewhere.
13:20
Okay. Can have
13:22
for an iPhone 12.
13:23
Maybe I could I can ship you some wild
13:25
broken MacBooks.
13:27
Oh, sure.
13:27
Maybe you can get a broken MacBook.
13:30
Okay.