# OFF/ON power button icon



## Brian Scully (Jan 23, 2001)

Does any body know where the circle and vertical bar as a symbol for the power switch came from and when it started.

I received a paper shreder for my birthday (Fellowes) and it has the symbol engraved on the rocker style power switch so it has migrated outside the computer world.


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## zarquon (May 24, 2005)

When power switches used to ( and some still do ) have different positions for on and off ( like a rocker switch ) an I & O were used to mark the positions. I always assumed that the current symbol used on single position switches, like those on a mac, was just a combination of the 2.

Z.

(btw I believe that the I & O were really showing open and closed circuits.)


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

zarquon said:


> (btw I believe that the I & O were really showing open and closed circuits.)



Good ol' Binary ones and zeros.


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

oh, wow, they really are standardized. 

The one you are asking about means "Standby" and is a IEC standard from decades ago. It was only supposed to be used for "Standby" but is now in common usage for normal on/off. 

see: http://eetd.lbl.gov/Controls/publications/switch5.pdf

BTW, IEC is Internatinal Electrotechnical Commision.


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## Brian Scully (Jan 23, 2001)

*Thank you Atroz*



Atroz said:


> oh, wow, they really are standardized.
> 
> The one you are asking about means "Standby" and is a IEC standard from decades ago. It was only supposed to be used for "Standby" but is now in common usage for normal on/off.
> 
> ...


it just goes to show that there is always more information out there that any of us really WANTED to know in the first place   I really do appreciate the feed back 

Now for the really hard question. <VBG>

Why is Apple Computer Stock AAPL on nasdaq when logic would say APPL 

There does not seem to be another company on NASDAQ that has APPL as a symbol altho' Google seems to have many organisations that have APPL in their name but not on the stock exchange


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

Brian Scully said:


> it just goes to show that there is always more information out there that any of us really WANTED to know in the first place   I really do appreciate the feed back
> 
> Now for the really hard question. <VBG>
> 
> ...


According to yahoo: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=APPL

Changed Ticker Symbol
'APPL' is no longer valid. It has changed to APPL.PK.

Looks like Apple may be able to claim it?


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## Brian Scully (Jan 23, 2001)

Atroz said:


> According to yahoo: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=APPL
> 
> Changed Ticker Symbol
> 'APPL' is no longer valid. It has changed to APPL.PK.
> ...


Thanks Atroz It seems that while I rely on Google it seems that Yahoo may have better info from time to time <GRIN>


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

Brian Scully said:


> Thanks Atroz It seems that while I rely on Google it seems that Yahoo may have better info from time to time <GRIN>


Actually, I found the Yahoo link through Google.


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