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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
September 21,
2008
Q.
With reference to a computer and software,
what is an Easter egg?
A.
Easter eggs are messages, videos, graphics,
sound effects, or an unusual change in
program behavior that sometimes occur in a
software program in response to some
undocumented set of commands, mouse clicks,
keystrokes or other stimuli intended as a
joke or to display program credits. It can
also be something on the computer that is
not documented like hidden graphics or
music.
Most
Microsoft software written before XP (2002)
contained Easter eggs. However, this
practice was stopped with the proliferation
of malware as a good faith measure. Many
programmers would deliberately place things
in the software that could only be accessed
by doing something that was not the norm.
Windows XP was not supposed to contain any,
and for sure Vista doesn't, at least, none
yet found. No other current Microsoft
software has been found to contain them.
(yet) Most computer games still are filled
with hidden Easter Eggs.
The best
way to describe what they are is with a few
examples. These will work in XP, but not
Vista.
1. Most
of you have probably played Solitaire on the
computer. When you win the game, there is a
awesome display of the cards all fanning out
and bouncing off the bottom of the screen.
To duplicate this without winning, simply
press ALT+SHIFT+2. This only works on XP,
not Vista.
2. This
concerns the Pinball game that is installed
with Windows XP. Press start, All programs,
games, Pinball. To expand it to full screen
press F4. When you are in the game, wait
until the ball appears and then type in
'hidden test' without the quotes. if you
have not misspelled this then you should be
able to hold the left mouse button down and
control the ball with the mouse.
3. Do you
remember the soft sweet music that played
when Windows XP was first setting up? Well,
it is on your computer, but not stored where
music would normally be stored. It is also
pretty well hidden. Here's how to find it.
Click
Start, then Search. Click All Files and
Folders. Type in "title.wma" without the
quotes, but no NOT click OK. Click "More
Advanced Options". Check Search System
folders, Search Hidden folders, and Search
sub-folders. Now, click the Sea button. When
the file is found, double click on it, sit
back, and relax.
4. Open
the Control Panel, select Sound, Speech and
Sounds, then Speech. Click the Text to
Speech tab. Choose the Microsoft Sam voice.
Delete the txt in the test box, and type in
"crotch" without the quotes. Sam says "Crows
Nest". Trying this with the other voices
produces the correct sounds.
5. Here's
one with political implications. Click
Start, run, and enter Notepad to open it.
Enter "bush hid the facts" without the
quotes, and then save it. What you call it
doesn't matter, but note where it is saved.
Now re-open it and what you wrote has
changed.
6. Right
click on the desktop, and choose Properties.
Click the Screen Saver tab and choose 3D
Pipes. Click the Settings button, then
choose Textured and click OK. Click the
Preview button and the pipes will be candy
cane colored. |
