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The Secret Origins of Microsoft Office's Clippy

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the melinda-has-a-lot-to-answer-for dept.

Harry writes "Most folks think that Microsoft Office's Clippy, Microsoft Bob, and Windows XP's Search Assistant dog were perverse jokes — but a dozen years' worth of patent filings shows that Microsoft took the concept of animated software 'helpers' really, really seriously, even long after everyone else realized it was a bad idea. And the drawings those patents contain are weirdly fascinating." The article, a slide show really, spreads over 15 pages.

2 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Jesus. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who cares where Clippy is from. I just want it to die.

    I'll tell you what I want to die - Web sites that spread an article out one paragraph at a time over 15 pages where the spam-to-content ratio is 15 to 1.

    I'm sorry, but I didn't read the article, since I didn't get past page one of fifteen.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  2. Re:I love when an article... by IICV · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... your post was more informative than the article.

    I know that's a pretty low bar to pass, but you still deserve congratulations.