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The dogcow symbol, created by Susan Kare in 1983, was used for printing options on Mac operating systems until it was replaced in OS 10. Some users have found ways to bring it back, and it remains a beloved mascot for Apple’s Developer Support Group. The dogcow is always female and known for its “Moof!” sound.
The dogcow is a seemingly innocent enough creature that is familiar to most Macintosh and Apple® computer systems enthusiasts. In 1983, Susan Kare was inventing various dingbat symbols for the Cairo font and used a small white dog with black, cow-like spots for the letter z. Affectionately known as Clarus to some Mac users, the symbol has been suggested as an icon for printing options on several MAC operating systems (OS) for laser printers. The name dogcow didn’t come around until 1987 when Scott Zimmerman coined it. Up until OS 9, when you clicked on the page printing options, you could see the little dogcow oriented in different directions.
Another feature of dogcow that many people liked was what it said when clicked. A click of the mouse would cause the animal to say “Moof!” a nice blend of dog and cow sounds. For many, dogcow was another one of the fun and entertaining aspects of Mac computers. However, when OS 10 was introduced, dogcow was left out, leaving many praying for its return.
You can find some downloadable patches and “haxies” that allow you to bring the pet back to your Mac computer if you’re running OS 10. Some Mac users wouldn’t feel the same way without the Clarus image in the printer options and refer to the new image of a person showing different print orientations as a “boring guy”. If you’re content to live without dogcow on your operating system, you should know that the pet is gone but not forgotten.
Clarus is still a mascot for Apple’s Developer Support Group, and Microsoft® tried to jump on board by using a slightly different design of a dog cow in PowerPoint®. The sound the animal makes, that recognizable silly “Moof!” and the original design are trademarks of Apple, and as such you may not use them without permission, although the number of pages devoted to both appear to infringe copyright on a frequent basis.
Unfortunately, Clarus is doomed to remain single, even though she is much loved by Mac users. According to internet myth and legend, dogcows, and there is actually only Clarus, are always female, as the dogbull sounds too much like the bulldog and causes confusion. Other phrases that arose around the advent of Clarus include the idea of having “Moof! in mind”, which means being creative, thinking outside the box and essentially living the “Apple” lifestyle, based on simplicity.
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