The forgotten Mac keyboard symbols Canada forced Apple to make
Key symbols we lost to time, pt. 2: The Mac side
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Canadian regulations led Apple to produce Mac keyboards with unique, often ugly icons for keys like Control, Alt, Tab, and even Escape. This CSA/ACNOR variant replaced the standard symbols used in US and European layouts, and appeared on models from the AppleDesign keyboard to the white 2003 keyboard. The article also explores the Japanese Kotoeri pencil symbol on the Control key, a short-lived Apple invention to aid complex Japanese input.
I can imagine the pain inside Apple of someone having to put the ugly symbols coming from above, alongside otherwise generally thoughtful and refined typography.