Above is the logo for Microsoft Surface, what amounts to Redmond’s answer to Apple’s iPhone/iTouch screen/pad technology.

And that’s not where the similarities end. Does anyone else think the Surface symbol looks like Apple’s command-key symbol, tipped at a 45-degree angle?

Not that Apple owns that little symbol: It’s actually a common Scandinavian glyph called a Sevärdhet. But within the computer industry, it’s certainly closely associated with Apple. Combine that with the aforementioned parallels with Apple’s established touch technology, and it looks to me like Microsoft’s pilfering — in fact, a second time, since the new-look Office symbol also steals the command-key look.

I guess it could all be a coincidence. Maybe Microsoft’s logo has a hidden functional purpose: It’s probably the finger-swirl equivalent of Control-Alt-Delete, for when all those Windows-touchy operating systems do their inevitable Blue Screen of Death.