In the dark times before Google Docs and before cloud software stored the novel you claimed to be working on, there was only Microsoft Word. And we all opened Word with dread, because once it loaded onto your screen a foul specter would appear. We thought we had driven him from the land, to haunt the fringes of weird Amazon kink fiction, but the seventh seal has been breached, and Clippy rides upon the land once more.
OK, perhaps this a mild overreaction to a browser extension, but it’s difficult to think of something Microsoft created that was more loathed by people than Clippy. The overly cheerful, and sometimes obnoxious, software assistant was an early stab at customer service from a robot that rather quickly became the butt of tasteless jokes and April Fool’s Day pranks across the internet.
The extension doesn’t actually do much; once you install it, Clippy offers his help, which, in typical Clippy fashion, doesn’t actually help that much, and then sits idling in the corner of your browser. Much like Clippy himself, it’s more cute than useful, but if you have a little nostalgia for Microsoft’s metal buddy, then it may be worth installing. Of course, it’s also worth asking just what Clippy’s doing if he’s not actually assisting. You’d better not be collecting a check, Clippy.
(Via Mashable)