Perhaps one of the best known sounds in the geek universe is the startup gong that we Mac users hear almost every time we start up our machines. While it in and of itself is just one of the many noises our computers make on a daily basis, it has made quite a name for itself, and is surprisingly calming. After all, Wall-E also used this sound in the Disney movie when he was done charging. In the video below, you will find an extremely fascinating interview held with the creator of this sound who was an Apple engineer responsible for pretty much any possibility of noise coming out of our Macs. The man, Jim Reekes, proves to be a pretty interesting character, and reveals some great stories behind how and why he created the sound that he did.
Perhaps the most surprising part to me was how much time he put into making one sound that became so popular among the Apple crowd. Clearly his work paid off and he has now made one of the most recognizable sounds around. While it doesn’t appear like something all that great, I’d certainly love to be able to say that I created the startup gong – it’d be a wonderful conversation start, that’s for sure.
Via TAGS: apple engineer, apple startup chime, jim reekes, mac startup gong, mac startup sound
Sculptors and painters, for instance, leave a trail of physical art behind them that lasts for a very long time and is widely appreciated by others. Programmer's, however, can leave a trail of beautiful hidden works which they are unfortunately the only ones who can see and appreciate it, all of which eventually gets deleted, abandoned and forgotten. Most of Jim's software art is now lost, but he's so very fortunate to have also created something physical enough – the Mac startup sound – that it will never be deleted or forgotten, and has been immortalized in film.
I don't believe this guy. I've heard the start-up sound from an old Beatles Song. Steve Jobs is a big Beatles fan.