The new keyboards out of Apple may look quite dashing with their new tactile feeling and slim contours, but they are missing a very important element… the Apple symbol traditionally found on the Command key. While this omission is a purely esthetic one, some old-school Mac users did not take the move too well and are petitioning Apple to bring the symbol back.

The Apple key, or Open Apple key as it was initially known, has been around for many years, and despite the fact that it is most often referred to as the 'Command' key, it has retained the Apple logo. Apple's exclusion of it on the latest keyboards is simply a matter of esthetics, as everything works in exactly the same way, but for exactly this reason some want to keep it. Apple has not made any official statement regarding the removal of the Apple logo from the Command key of the new keyboards, but it was likely done in order to not overuse the Apple logo and to make the Command key less cluttered. None of these reasons makes sense to some Mac fans who want the Apple logo back on their keyboards.

Thomas, from the German site Rettet die, has started a petition to save the Open Apple key. The petition has already been signed by 1600 people who want to keep the Apple symbol on the command key. To get the word out, Thomas has also sent an English version of the petition to TUAW. Unfortunately, even if ten time more people sign, 16000 signatures is not likely to sway Apple especially considering that the keyboards are already being manufactured and sold. This has not discouraged Open Apple fans that want to keep the legacy of the key alive as a Mac tradition.