Jim Reekes
Encyclopedia
Jim Reekes was a programmer at Apple Computer
for 12 years. His work has significantly affected operating system
s, most notably System 7
and QuickTime
. He also is responsible for creating many of the system sounds for the Macintosh
operating system. Some of the most famous creations during that time were the Mac
startup sound and the system sound sosumi
.
in Music Composition and Theory. Despite Reekes's significant achievements in the field of computer science, he did not take any computer science courses in college but opted to teach himself programming on the Apple II
and then on the Macintosh 128k
. During this time, Reekes could not afford the high cost associated with the Apple Lisa
development system.
In April 1988, Reekes began working at Apple Computer Inc. in the Developer Technical Support group (also known as MacDTS). His work at the time encompassed developing the beta version of System 7 and the Sound Manager
control panel. He also created the startup chime used on every Macintosh since 1991. Reekes said, "The startup sound was done in my home studio on a Korg Wavestation
. It's a C Major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall)."
In 1989, Apple Corps
sued Apple Computer as part of long-running trademark
litigation (see Apple Corps v. Apple Computer
), while System 7 was under development. System 7 was to include the new Sound Manager
program, which Reekes had written and patent
ed. He created a sound that he says was initially called "Chime", though he says it may have been named "Xylophone". In either case, Apple's legal department felt the name seemed too musical, and therefore might give Apple Corps more grounds to sue; Reekes had to change the name.
In response, Reekes first thought of the name "Let it Beep" (parody
ing the title of "Let it Be
", a song by The Beatles
, who founded Apple Corps). Told that the name might create new risks for his company, Reekes claimed he replied, "So sue me." He decided to use that phrase for the sound's name instead, but spell it "s-o-s-u-m-i" and claim that it was an actual word in Japanese
. The plan worked and the name "sosumi
" was used for the sound.
"Engineers are retarded. They have some kind of brain damage that allows them to not have social skills so that they could concentrate long enough to write code. But it's a disease. That's why I had to quit. I mean, I'm like an engineer in recovery. I don't want to write code anymore. It just makes you retarded. I mean, get a girlfriend, get a life."
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
for 12 years. His work has significantly affected operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s, most notably System 7
System 7
System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...
and QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
. He also is responsible for creating many of the system sounds for the Macintosh
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
operating system. Some of the most famous creations during that time were the Mac
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
startup sound and the system sound sosumi
Sosumi
Sosumi is one of the system sounds introduced in Apple Inc.'s Macintosh System 7 operating system in 1991, an extremely short sample of a xylophone, which gained notoriety in computer folklore as a cheeky response to a long-running Apple Corps v. Apple Computer trademark conflict...
.
Biography
Reekes graduated from California State University Fullerton in 1981 with a degreeAcademic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in Music Composition and Theory. Despite Reekes's significant achievements in the field of computer science, he did not take any computer science courses in college but opted to teach himself programming on the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
and then on the Macintosh 128k
Macintosh 128K
The Macintosh 128K machine, released as the "Apple Macintosh", was the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case contained a monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. An indentation in the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. It had a selling...
. During this time, Reekes could not afford the high cost associated with the Apple Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa—also known as the Lisa—is a :personal computer designed by Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s....
development system.
In April 1988, Reekes began working at Apple Computer Inc. in the Developer Technical Support group (also known as MacDTS). His work at the time encompassed developing the beta version of System 7 and the Sound Manager
Sound Manager
The Sound Manager is a part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system, in Mac OS. It is used to control the production and manipulation of sounds on Macintosh computers. The Sound Manager is also used by other parts of the Macintosh system software that produce sounds, such as the Speech...
control panel. He also created the startup chime used on every Macintosh since 1991. Reekes said, "The startup sound was done in my home studio on a Korg Wavestation
Korg Wavestation
The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which different PCM waveform data are played successively,...
. It's a C Major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall)."
In 1989, Apple Corps
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by the members of The Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year...
sued Apple Computer as part of long-running trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
litigation (see Apple Corps v. Apple Computer
Apple Corps v. Apple Computer
Between 1978 and 2006 there were a number of legal disputes between Apple Corps and the computer manufacturer Apple Computer over competing trademark rights...
), while System 7 was under development. System 7 was to include the new Sound Manager
Sound Manager
The Sound Manager is a part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system, in Mac OS. It is used to control the production and manipulation of sounds on Macintosh computers. The Sound Manager is also used by other parts of the Macintosh system software that produce sounds, such as the Speech...
program, which Reekes had written and patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed. He created a sound that he says was initially called "Chime", though he says it may have been named "Xylophone". In either case, Apple's legal department felt the name seemed too musical, and therefore might give Apple Corps more grounds to sue; Reekes had to change the name.
In response, Reekes first thought of the name "Let it Beep" (parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
ing the title of "Let it Be
Let It Be (song)
"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band...
", a song by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, who founded Apple Corps). Told that the name might create new risks for his company, Reekes claimed he replied, "So sue me." He decided to use that phrase for the sound's name instead, but spell it "s-o-s-u-m-i" and claim that it was an actual word in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. The plan worked and the name "sosumi
Sosumi
Sosumi is one of the system sounds introduced in Apple Inc.'s Macintosh System 7 operating system in 1991, an extremely short sample of a xylophone, which gained notoriety in computer folklore as a cheeky response to a long-running Apple Corps v. Apple Computer trademark conflict...
" was used for the sound.
Accomplishments
- Created the client–server tuning Web ServiceWeb serviceA Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
for KerbangoKerbangoKerbango was both a company acquired by 3Com and its lead product. Kerbango was founded in 1998 in Silicon Valley by former executives from Apple Computer and Power Computing Corporation. On June 27, 2000, 3Com announced it was acquiring the Kerbango company in an $80 million deal...
, the world's first standalone internet radio, a tuning method later adopted by Apple ComputerApple ComputerApple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. - Designed a jog wheel and hierarchical menu interface predating the iPodIPodiPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
. - Responsible for porting the Real Networks RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
to an InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
appliance. - Original member of the QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
team. - Responsible for numerous releases of operating systems and hardwareHardwareHardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
products. - Supported the development of multimedia products such as Mercer MayerMercer MayerMercer Mayer is an American children's book writer and illustrator. He has published over 300 books using a wide range of illustrative styles...
's Just Grandma & Me, Myst, Macromedia's SoundEdit, Bias Peak, Intelligent Music M, Great Wave ConcertWareConcertWareConcertWare is a music composition software program made by Chad Mitchell of Great Wave Software for the Mac OS in 1984. Later versions were published by Jump! Software Inc. It was the first music program for the Apple Macintosh that printed music from a graphics screen. It included MIDI keyboard...
, Articulate Systems Voice NavigatorVoice NavigatorThe Voice Navigator was the first voice recognition device for command and control of a graphical user interface . The system was originally designed for the Apple Macintosh Plus and released in 1989. Subsequent versions were created for Microsoft Windows.The original system included both hardware...
, Rainmaker Research Thunder, Adobe Premiere, Opcode Vision, QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
Movie Player, HyperCardHyperCardHyperCard is an application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer, Inc. that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, written...
, Final CutFinal cutFinal cut may refer to:* The Final Cut , a 1983 album by Pink Floyd** "The Final Cut" , a song included on the above Pink Floyd album* The Final Cut , an industrial music group...
, and the enhanced Audio CD.
Patents
Reekes has earned several patents from the work he has done in the past 20 years:- Sound ManagerSound ManagerThe Sound Manager is a part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system, in Mac OS. It is used to control the production and manipulation of sounds on Macintosh computers. The Sound Manager is also used by other parts of the Macintosh system software that produce sounds, such as the Speech...
- QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
Quotes
"The people on the outside think that, you know, it’s like this wonderful world of Oz or Disney going on and all of us are just all these brilliant amazing happy people and like, it’s not. It’s like a sausage factory, I mean, you really don’t want to know how this stuff happens. A lot of it is just bad arguments and politics and working around the rules and, and not doing the right thing and apologizing for it later and getting fired a few times, I mean, that’s how things got done. It’s definitely like “Don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain.""Engineers are retarded. They have some kind of brain damage that allows them to not have social skills so that they could concentrate long enough to write code. But it's a disease. That's why I had to quit. I mean, I'm like an engineer in recovery. I don't want to write code anymore. It just makes you retarded. I mean, get a girlfriend, get a life."