Who is John Appleseed?
Ever since the iPhone was announced, Apple has used the name John Appleseed many times in its demos and ads. But just who is this John Appleseed guy?
Well, according to his Wikipedia entry,
John Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26, 1774–February 18, 1845), was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced the apple to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance of apples.
He was so popular that a festival is held in his name every September in Johnny Appleseed Park, Ohio.
John also has his own entry in the built in Mac OS X dictionary:
It would seem therefore that John Appleseed is being put across by Apple Inc. as some sort of icon, potentially representing the upcoming launch of the Apple iPhone across the globe.
And it’s not just Apple, even Mark Cain from MIMvista - who demoed a new iPhone medical imaging app at WWDC 2008 earlier this month - used the name Johnny Appleseed! In fact, he goes on to show a “fusion of a CT and PET” scan of John Appleseed!
Besides iPhone, John is also featured in the Mac OS X Leopard TextEdit icon where he signs a letter bearing the words of the (now old) Think Different advertising slogan.
Dear Kate,
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 and they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing that you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.
Take care,
John Appleseed