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A Footnote on the History of the Dogcow
April Fool's at Apple
Meanwhile, Matthew and his friends at Light Software decided to play
a little April Fool's joke at Apple's R&D campus. In the dark of night
they diligently constructed an amazingly realistic pile of offal which they
placed appropriately behind the DowCow sculpture. They dubbed it "Power
Feces" and came back the next morning to see people's reactions.
Apple wasn't happy with it at all. Actually Apple didn't give a flying
flip one way or the other. Come on, this is the west coast! Who would notice?
- from An Imaginary Quest Tale
Apple Fact: The pictures in this story were taken by an Apple QuickTake 100. |
In 1993 I was in Memphis, doing an ineffective job or running my own company, Baseline
Publishing. Baseline had started off well; we had released a number of
popular software packages (Thunder 7 and the Talking Moose,
to name a few), but growing the company beyond the initial start-up proved
to be beyond my skills at the time. I decided to leave the company in the
hands of more capable people and take a year long sabbatical.
I set my sights on California. Every time I had visited there I had
a wonderful time. I had collected a good circle of friends who lived there
and longed to see them again. I especially wanted to be in on the 'neat
stuff' that Apple Computer was hatching in Cupertino. I called my friend,
Dave Nelson, who had started his own company called Light Software and
asked him if I could crash on the floor. He said he would be glad to have
me.
I timed my arrival to coincide with the 1994 MacWorld Exhibition in San Francisco.
I was going to help Dave get out the word about his new company and help
with any consults he did at Apple. I started out as a consultant to Dave's
company and if I did really well then I would hire a consultant to work
for me. That was the way it was back then. Permanent jobs were a myth -
and nobody really cared either.
Dave was an accomplished hostmaster and practical jokester. He was one
of those larger than life people who command either immediate love or hate
in those he touched. In those days of Apple's ascendancy, he fit right
in. He hosted a great party to announce his company, featuring the lounge
lizard stylings of a comic named Bud E. Love. The party was a big success.
Even before the last drunken industry mag editor had been shoved out
the door, Dave was already mussing about what he was going to do next.
Specifically, on April Fools Day. He asked me for ideas. I thought a bit.
My mind kept returning to the new PowerPC that Apple was claiming would
save the world. I suggested we come up with something based on "PowerFeCes
- The Biggest Load of Crap You've Ever Seen." Well, Dave thought it
was funny, but it really didnt tickle his funny bone.
Months pass.
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Contact: - (c)opyleft 1995-2009 Matthew Lewis Carroll Smith - Creative Commons Licensed