oh god - me and my fucking big "know it all mouth" (but I do - honestly)
you probably know more about it than I - even though I wasn't around at the birth of the symbol in the mid 70's - I got to meet Janoff later in the early '80's after I had joined Chiat Day's SF office (just prior to moving to LA)
We were beginning to work with branding the company at that time leading up to the launch of the world famous "lemmings" ad that ran during the '84 super bowl. The one of the only ads that ever advertised a product that didn't exist and never showed the product - that's the kind of balls that Jay Chiat and Lee Clow, creative director had back then.
see attached movie
http://www.apple-history.com/1984.html
It was a fertile time of plenty of $$$ and company growth - and I was bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball between Chiat/Day/Bright and Associates and Saul Bass/Herb Yager and Associates (the AT&T "death star" design team) - needless to say - I was burning the candle but was young -
Personally, I hate the new AT&T symbol and think the crack pots that ruined the mark deserve to refund the money they were paid - they used the "reverse" symbol (there is no such thing as a negative highlight) which now shows on the new symbol - EERGHHH make me angry - that took so long to figure out way back when
but that's all off subject
here's a pic of me at the Chiat/Day Christmas Party in '84 when I look like (or should I say) Borat looks amazingly like me!
god! I was SO full of myself then - some things don't change...