Xross

The symbol on the left has seven blobs; seven being a popular number in Christianity, but it was not designed with any intention of having a Christian interpretation; it is the focus of the Sony logo shown on the right. (We have included it on these pages because somebody queried us about it.)

True; if the right-most blob was erased then it would resemble a cross with six blobs.

True; if the blobs were replaced by steel girders then it would resemble a crane.

But it is not made of steel girders; it is not a crane. It does not have six blobs; it is not a Christian cross.

The Xross logo is found on devices that use display screens, which are compatible with Sony's XrossMediaBar (XMB) graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI typically displays icons arranged horizontally across the screen. Just as we're familiar with drop-down menus on webpages, XMB displays a vertical arrangement of icons when the user selects any of the horizontal icons.

This is currently (as of 2011) the default interface for some of the latest Sony PlayStation devices, TVs, cameras, phones, laptop PCs, etc.

As mentioned, this has nothing to do with the Christian cross, and neither does our other little story about a Japanese electronics company.