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