Re:Long Live Software Easter Eggs
by jll29 on Thursday July 21, 2022 @04:29AM
(#32177004)
I once purchased a Pascal compiler for the Atari ST.
Can't recall its name, but it was written in Assembler, ran very fast (much faster than e.g. ST Pascal) and did everything in RAM, and thus felt a bit like TurboPascal.
Accidentally, I discovered a certain key combination activated a microscopic
BASIC interpreter that was integrated (undocumented); I wrote to the developers
to learn that I was the first to find it.
Re:Long Live Software Easter Eggs
by molticrystal on Thursday July 21, 2022 @06:17AM
(#32177594)
Microsoft used to have them in everything, but I believe, and perhaps somebody can correct me on this if I am wrong, that to contract with national governments, hidden or extraneous functionality had to be removed.
I loved the flight simulator and a doom game in excel. Also a few programs had hidden functionality in the about menus.
I suppose my favorite of all time was a hidden menu in an oscilloscope that caused it to play I believe it was pong or some other simple arcade game.
One that if I ever have the time is I want to reverse the very antiquated Apple II or IIgs Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego game, by chance I hit a key combo and the game went beserk.
Re:Long Live Software Easter Eggs
by lonelygirl15a on Thursday July 21, 2022 @09:51AM
(#32179380)
The Basic Editor Monitor on the Sperry Univac OS/3, when it had an error, would put an ASCII image of a vague insect on the screen and state something like that "BEM, the Bug-Eyed Monster, strikes again".
Can't recall its name, but it was written in Assembler, ran very fast (much faster than e.g. ST Pascal) and did everything in RAM, and thus felt a bit like TurboPascal.
Accidentally, I discovered a certain key combination activated a microscopic BASIC interpreter that was integrated (undocumented); I wrote to the developers to learn that I was the first to find it.
I loved the flight simulator and a doom game in excel. Also a few programs had hidden functionality in the about menus.
I suppose my favorite of all time was a hidden menu in an oscilloscope that caused it to play I believe it was pong or some other simple arcade game.
One that if I ever have the time is I want to reverse the very antiquated Apple II or IIgs Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego game, by chance I hit a key combo and the game went beserk.
Power and loyalty is everything these days. Surrender to corporate or perish. All whimsy is to be management-approved.
It’s definitely a bit sad to see Easter Eggs be less common these days, but I do understand how it’s not always the best practice.
(87 points | 20 days ago | 25 comments)
(Easter eggs rule)