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For whom the Mac bell tolls, it tolls for thee


The Mac startup sound is iconic. It’s a lovely way to start your computing day.

But Macs also used to have death tones. Fun. Stephen Hackett, Apple historian about town, has the lowdown:

What you may not know is that for years, the Mac also came with a death sound, that would play when the machine crashed.

And they are glorious

He’s right. They are glorious. Go have a listen.

The Macintosh II era swan songs make it sound like you’ve won something, which is fun. They’re also reminiscent of the sounds you might hear before an announcement in Japan. That’s just good gear.

Now, if only someone could add the sounds of a screaming Roomba to my MacBook Pro when it crashes.



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