{{short description|Symbol on early Apple operating systems}}{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Redirect|Moof|the cannabis device|Bong}} right|frame|Original Clarus the Dogcow
The '''dogcow''', named Clarus, is a bitmapped image designed by Apple for the demonstration of page layout in the classic Mac OS. The sound it makes is "Moof!", a blend of "moo" and "woof".<ref name="Technote 31"/> Clarus became the archetype of surrealistic humor in the corporate culture of the original Macintosh group, particularly as the mascot of Apple’s Developer Technical Support as officially documented in Technote #31.<ref name="Technote 31"/><ref name="We miss you"/>
==History== In 1983, the dog icon had been created by Susan Kare as the glyph for "z", as part of the ''Cairo'' font. Later, when redesigning the classic Mac OS "Page Setup" print dialog box for the LaserWriter, an example image was required.<ref name="We miss you">{{cite web|last1=Phin|first1=Christopher|title=We miss you, Clarus the dogcow|url=https://www.macworld.com/article/2926184/we-miss-you-clarus-the-dogcow.html|website=MacWorld|access-date=April 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407054128/http://www.macworld.com/article/2926184/we-miss-you-clarus-the-dogcow.html|archive-date=April 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> According to HCI engineer Annette Wagner, {{quote | text=For the LaserWriter there was a print dialog with checkbox options that could all be mixed with each other. We needed some kind of graphic that would show flipping horizontal, flipping vertical, 2% reduction, mirror effects, six or eight kinds of effects. We had this typeface of crazy symbols that came off the Macintosh that Susan Kare had originally done, that had all these crazy critters inside it. I had to alter the dog image pretty significantly, not only to make it larger but to give it a clear front, clear back, clear top, clear bottom, and I had to change the spots on the dog specifically so that when the 2% reduction was in effect you could clearly tell the difference.|source=Oral history of Annette Wagner<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFZbXwox80c Oral History of Annette Wagner] by the Computer History Museum Retrieved and transcribed January 31, 2023</ref>}} The new dog graphic had a more bovine look. {{quote | text=Did they have a heated conversation and holler "Dog!" "Cow!" "Dog!" "Cow!" back and forth? We may never know. But one thing is clear, Mr. Zimmerman finally gave in and said, "It's both, OK? It's called a 'dogcow.' Now will you get out of my office?"|source=History of the Dogcow, Part 1<ref name="Develop #17"/>}} On October 15, 1987, the term "dogcow" was coined by Scott Zimmerman.<ref name="Develop #17">{{cite journal | journal=Develop | issue=17 | title=History of the Dogcow, Part 1 | url=http://www.mactech.com/articles/develop/issue_17/135-136_Dogcow_column.html | access-date=October 3, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085545/http://www.mactech.com/articles/develop/issue_17/135-136_Dogcow_column.html | archive-date=October 4, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="moofinmind">{{cite web | title=The Moof! in Mind! | url=http://www.storybytes.com/view-moof/articles/mim.html | access-date=September 11, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420193100/http://www.storybytes.com/view-moof/articles/mim.html | archive-date=April 20, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> She<ref name="Develop #18">{{cite journal | journal=Develop | issue=18 | title=History of the Dogcow, Part 2 | url=http://www.mactech.com/articles/develop/issue_18/114-115_Dogcow_2.html | access-date=October 3, 2017 | quote=Somewhere along the line I baptized the dogcow "Clarus". Of course she’s a female, as are all cows; males would be referred to as dogbulls, but none exist because there are already bulldogs, and God doesn't like to have naming problems. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004135711/http://www.mactech.com/articles/develop/issue_18/114-115_Dogcow_2.html | archive-date=October 4, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> was later named Clarus by Mark "The Red" Harlan, as a joking reference to Claris, Apple's business unit for office software at the time.<ref name="moofinmind" />
The Clarus icon became one of the giant pieces of pixel art in the Icon Garden that existed in the front yard of the Apple Campus at 1 Infinite Loop from 1993 to 1998.<ref name="We miss you"/>
The latest references to the dogcow came in the documentation for the Swift programming language, which uses the word "dogcow" as an example of the use of Unicode characters to name constants and variables;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Swift/Conceptual/Swift_Programming_Language/TheBasics.html |title=The Swift Programming Language (Swift 3.1): The Basics |publisher=Apple Inc |access-date=May 5, 2017 |quote=Constant and variable names can contain almost any character, including Unicode characters: let π = 3.14159 let 你好 = "你好世界" let 🐶🐮 = "dogcow" |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622200109/https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Swift/Conceptual/Swift_Programming_Language/TheBasics.html |archive-date=June 22, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in a sticker pack in Messages.<ref name="emoji">{{cite web | title=The First Apple Emoji Sticker Packs Are Blasts From the Past | first=Don | last=Reisinger | date=July 5, 2016 | publisher=Fortune |url=https://fortune.com/2016/07/05/apple-emoji-stickers/ | access-date=September 30, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001074537/http://fortune.com/2016/07/05/apple-emoji-stickers/ | archive-date=October 1, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>
[[Image:Dogcow from macOS (current).svg|right|frame|"Smooth" Clarus in macOS Ventura]] In the first beta of macOS Ventura, the dogcow returned to the page setup window,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clarus Returns Home |url=https://shadowfacts.net/2022/clarus/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Shadowfacts |date=14 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref> and in iOS 16 entering 'Clarus' or 'Moof'<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clarus the dogcow has been reborn in an iPhone keyboard easter egg |url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/03/30/clarus-the-dogcow-has-been-reborn-in-an-iphone-keyboard-easter-egg |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=AppleInsider |date=30 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> results in the keyboard suggesting the 'dog' and 'cow' Emoji.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-30 |title=iOS Keyboard Suggests Dog and Cow Emoji When 'Clarus' is Typed |url=https://512pixels.net/2022/03/ios-keyboard-suggests-dog-and-cow-emoji-when-clarus-is-typed/ |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=512 Pixels |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Overview== {{quote|text=There is a life-size picture of a dogcow conveniently located in the Finder. Look under "Page Setup..." Now look under "Options." Walla [sic], there is the dogcow in all its raging glory. Like any talented dog, it can do flips. Like any talented cow, it can do precision bitmap alignment.|source=Apple Technote 31<ref name="Technote 31"/>}} {{quote|text=Some people say that the dogcow hails from the sunny shores of the Middle of Nowhere. This location in the south Atlantic can be found in the Map control panel; simply type "Middle of Nowhere" and click Find. (For a small fee, these same people will tell you where they last saw Elvis.)|source=''Develop'' magazine<ref name="Develop #13"/>}}
The sound she makes is "Moof!",<ref name="Technote 31">{{cite web|url=https://developer.apple.com/products/techsupport/dogcow/tn31.html | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040202021201/http://developer.apple.com/products/techsupport/dogcow/tn31.html| archive-date=February 2, 2004 | title=Technote 31 - The Dogcow|date=February 2, 2004|publisher=Apple, Inc. |access-date=September 11, 2017}}</ref> and in early versions of Apple Developer CDs one section was known as "Moof!".{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}
The dogcow symbol and "Moof!" were proprietary trademarks of Apple until the registration was cancelled in 1999.<ref name="Develop #13">{{cite journal | journal=Develop | issue=13 | title=MACINTOSH Q & A: MACINTOSH DEVELOPER TECHNICAL SUPPORT | url=http://www.mactech.com/articles/develop/issue_13/104-117_Q_As.html | access-date=October 3, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004090018/http://www.mactech.com/articles/develop/issue_13/104-117_Q_As.html | archive-date=October 4, 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="USPTO">{{US trademark|74102529}}</ref>
==Reception== The disappearance of the Icon Garden and of Clarus from Apple's products is seen by ''MacWorld'' as a symbol of the draining of culture and character from, and an increase in blankness and austerity in, Apple's products over the years. In a 2015 retrospective, the magazine said Clarus "came into being through quirkiness and serendipity, and you could say it has no business in a grown-up, commercial operating system. It makes no real sense, and wasn’t really there on merit or through strategic planning" and represented a company that was "kooky", "idiosyncratic", and not dominated by rules.<ref name="We miss you"/>
== See also ==
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20020605043946/http://developer.apple.com/products/techsupport/dogcow/ Archive of a page of official Apple information on the dogcow] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040204184222/http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn1031.html Technical Note 1031 on Apple’s website] (archived February 4, 2004) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051025125741/http://www.interealm.com/clarusx ClarusX2014 - A system utility to install Clarus and other dogcattle into OS X Mavericks] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=289v_gKJjWU Clarus the Dogcow (Moof!) - A history of Clarus (YouTube video)] *[http://dorange.org/moofmuseum/ Moof! Museum], a museum dedicated to all Clarus appearances
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
{{Mac OS}}
Category:Apple Inc. Category:Classic Mac OS Category:Computer folklore Category:Dog mascots Category:Fictional hybrids Category:Fictional dogs Category:Mascots introduced in 1983