Startup cursor in top left instead of center. Why?

[Stinkythe1]

How come on OS X, whenever you first start up, the cursor is in the top left corner, and on Windows, the cursor is in the center of the screen?

How far does this go back? Does it go back to just OS X or does it go all the way back to the first macintosh?

 

[kgarner]

As far back as I can remember.

 

[Mesa Dynamics]

It goes back to the very first Macintosh. The cursor is put at a location where the very first "click" (if the mouse isn't moved) will open the Apple menu.

Why? My guess:
On the first click, something will definitely happen. When the Macintosh first came out, most users had never used a mouse in their lives. This way, if they happened to "press the mouse button" they'd get some feedback right away (as opposed to clicking into the desktop).

Also, on the first Macintosh, the default desktop was solid "gray" checkerboard bit pattern. The cursor was probably easier to see on the menubar/desktop boundary.