Apple soon changed the codename to “BHA.” Upon learning that it stood for “Butt-Head Astronomer,” Sagan filed a lawsuit for defamation of character, and lost.
I can just see Steve giggling as he changed the codename.
Update: As many of you noted, Steve wasn’t at Apple during this time.
If this was happening in the early 90s then wasn’t Steve doing his thing at NeXT, not Apple? Or are you referring to another Steve?
A non Apple source makes a claim about an Apple internal code name and Sagan goes nuts over what was basically a rumor.
Yeah, I can understand why someone might call him a butt head.
Then again what was the source for the whole BHA thing.
Carl Sagan was a great man who made a dent in the universe (quite literally in fact, with spacecraft now leaving our solar system very much a product of his genius and insight).
The small minded petulant morons who were cranking out one money loser after another in the 1990s Apple were the real butt-heads. Sagan was right to go after them.
I’m glad Jobs came back and turned that company around. I’d be surprised if those two had ever met and NOT gotten along.
A clarification.
I was at Apple in 1993 working in the QA group and was involved in the original PowerPC development.
There were 3 devices and the codenames were:
– PDM (PIltdown Man) = Power Macintosh 6100
– Carl Sagen = Power Macintosh 7100
– Cold Fusion = Power Macintosh 8100
The common theme was they were the ‘greatest frauds of the modern era’ – which explains why Carl Sagen was a bit bent out of shape.
You are correct regarding the renaming of Carl Sagen project. It was changed to BHA and then to LAW.