How 25 tech companies got their names

A peek at the meaning--sometimes hidden, sometimes glaringly obvious--built into the names of the world's biggest technology firms.

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According to Steve Jobs, Apple was so named because Jobs was coming back from an apple farm, and he was on a fruitarian diet. He thought the name was "fun, spirited, and not intimidating." The image of the bitten apple evokes the Christian creation myth of Adam and Eve--interestingly, the story of human beings' first sin against God. By eating the forbidden apple, goes the story, humans gained knowledge but lost paradise.
According to Steve Jobs, Apple was so named because Jobs was coming back from an apple farm, and he was on a fruitarian diet. He thought the name was "fun, spirited, and not intimidating." The image of the bitten apple evokes the Christian creation myth of Adam and Eve--interestingly, the story of human beings' first sin against God. By eating the forbidden apple, goes the story, humans gained knowledge but lost paradise.

Getty Images Photo By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Tue, Apr 24, 2012 6:22 PM EDT

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