Easter Egg Treats

Windows eggs
Rumor has it that Microsoft has a new policy banning its developers from writing Easter eggs into future Windows versions. Apparently they haven't cracked down yet. We found a few eggs still hidden in your Windows machine.

Windows Me

The egg: An explosive screensaver

How to crack it:

1. Select Start • Settings • Control Panel • Display.

2. Click the Screen Saver tab.

3. Select 3D Text in the Screen Saver drop-down list.

4. Click the Settings button.

5. In the text box, enter volcano and click OK.

6. Click OK again or click Preview to see the screensaver that names volcanos near Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

Windows CE 3

The egg: A perfect game of Solitaire

How to crack it:

1. Open Solitaire.

2. Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys.

3. Click the Deal button.

4. Play the game; you'll have a perfect lineup, and winning should take only a minute or two--assuming you know how to play Solitaire.

Windows 98

The egg: Historical commentary on modern art

How to crack it:

1. Open a text editor such as WordPad.

2. Open the file dossetup.bin, located in the windows\options\cabs folder.

3. Scroll almost to the bottom of the file or conduct a text search for Kandinsky (Edit • Find in WordPad).

4. You'll find a bit of historical commentary on the 20th century painter Wassily Kandinsky: "Wassily Kandinsky was the great Russian painter who participated in the Expressionist movement in Germany, taught at the Bauhaus, and edited the Blue Rider Almanac." In case you were wondering.

The egg: A slide show of the Microsoft campus

How to crack it:

1. Double-click the clock in the system tray and click the Time Zone tab. (If you're using Windows 98 SE, you'll have to open your Control Panel and double-click Regional Settings to access the map of the world.)

2. Hold down the Ctrl key.

3. On the map, click Cairo, Egypt.

4. Without letting go of the Ctrl key, drag your mouse to Memphis, Tennessee.

5. While still holding Ctrl, click the mouse on New Orleans and drag it to Redmond, Washington.

6. Let go of the mouse, and the slide show should begin. (Note: It may take several tries to hit the correct locations.)

Windows NT

The egg: A screensaver of developer credits

How to crack it:

1. Open the Control Panel and double-click Display.

2. Select the Screen Saver tab.

3. Select the 3D GL screensaver and click the Settings button.

4. In the text input field, enter the words not evil and click OK.

5. Click the Preview button.

Windows 2000

The egg: A Minesweeper trick to help you win the game

How to crack it:

1. Open Minesweeper (Start • Programs • Accessories • Games • Minesweeper).

2. Type xyzzy.

3. Look at the top, left pixel on the screen (you may have to minimize your other open apps).

4. Play the game, and the pixel will change colors when the pointer is on a mine.

Windows application eggs
Microsoft Excel developers have traditionally hidden an entire 3D game within each major revision of the software. In some, it's a flight simulator; in others, a car-racing game. Even if you don't use Excel, you're likely to have a few eggs hidden in your other apps. Use these steps to find them.

Outlook 2000

The egg: Want to find out who developed Microsoft Outlook? No? Try this easy game anyway and you'll get a chance to gobble up flying envelopes (each graced with a Microsoft developer's name) in a roving mailbox

How to crack it:

1. Open Outlook 2000.

2. In the Find a Contact text field, enter Ren Hoek and click Enter.

3. Outlook will say that it cannot find the requested contact. Click OK.

4. Select Tools • Macro • Macros.

5. In the Macro Name text box, enter OL2Krocks.

6. Click the Create button.

7. When the About Microsoft Outlook dialog box appears, hold down Ctrl-Alt-Shift and click OK.

8. Use your up and down arrow keys to play the game.

Word 2000

The egg: A typing exercise made easy

How to crack it:

1. Open Word 2000.

2. Start a new document.

3. Type =rand(200,99) and press Enter.

4. Wait several seconds, and you'll have more repeats of the phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" than you can shake a stick at.

The egg: Credits for Microsoft's user assistant staff

How to crack it:

1. Open Microsoft Word 2000.

2. Press the F1 key.

3. In the Help dialog box, select the Answer Wizard tab.

4. In the "What Would You Like To Do" text box, enter Cast.

5. Click the Search button.

6. Under the "Microsoft Office 2000 User Assistant Staff" topic, click the graphic once.

PowerPoint 2000

The egg: Animated developers' credits

How to crack it:

1. Open PowerPoint 2000 and select Help • About Microsoft PowerPoint.

2. Click anywhere in the orange graphic/logo box on the left.

3. Use your right and left arrow keys to speed up or slow down the show.

Dreamweaver 4.0

The egg: Groovy developers' credits

How to crack it:

1. Open Dreamweaver.

2. Start a new document.

3. In the body, type <script debuggercredits=true>var i;</script>.

4. Save the document.

5. Click the world icon and select Debug.

Flash 5.0

The egg: A game called Gold Rush

How to crack it:

1. Open Flash 5.0.

2. Select Help/About.

3. Double-click the M in the Macromedia logo before the animation stops.

4. Click Thanks.

1.	Select Start • Settings • Control Panel • Display.
2.	Click the Screen Saver tab.
3.	Select 3D Text in the Screen Saver drop-down list.
4.	Click the Settings button.
5.	In the text box, enter volcano and click OK.
6.	Click OK again or click Preview to see the screensaver that names volcanos near Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

1.	Open Solitaire.
2.	Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys.
3.	Click the Deal button.
4.	Play the game; you'll have a perfect lineup, and winning should take only a minute or two--assuming you know how to play Solitaire.

1.	Open a text editor such as WordPad.
2.	Open the file dossetup.bin, located in the windows\options\cabs folder.
3.	Scroll almost to the bottom of the file or conduct a text search for Kandinsky (Edit • Find in WordPad).
4.	You'll find a bit of historical commentary on the 20th century painter Wassily Kandinsky: "Wassily Kandinsky was the great Russian painter who participated in the Expressionist movement in Germany, taught at the Bauhaus, and edited the Blue Rider Almanac." In case you were wondering.

1.	Double-click the clock in the system tray and click the Time Zone tab. (If you're using Windows 98 SE, you'll have to open your Control Panel and double-click Regional Settings to access the map of the world.)
2.	Hold down the Ctrl key.
3.	On the map, click Cairo, Egypt.
4.	Without letting go of the Ctrl key, drag your mouse to Memphis, Tennessee.
5.	While still holding Ctrl, click the mouse on New Orleans and drag it to Redmond, Washington.
6.	Let go of the mouse, and the slide show should begin. (Note: It may take several tries to hit the correct locations.)

1.	Open the Control Panel and double-click Display.
2.	Select the Screen Saver tab.
3.	Select the 3D GL screensaver and click the Settings button.
4.	In the text input field, enter the words not evil and click OK.
5.	Click the Preview button.

1.	Open Minesweeper (Start • Programs • Accessories • Games • Minesweeper).
2.	Type xyzzy.
3.	Look at the top, left pixel on the screen (you may have to minimize your other open apps).
4.	Play the game, and the pixel will change colors when the pointer is on a mine.

1.	Open Outlook 2000.
2.	In the Find a Contact text field, enter Ren Hoek and click Enter.
3.	Outlook will say that it cannot find the requested contact. Click OK.
4.	Select Tools • Macro • Macros.
5.	In the Macro Name text box, enter OL2Krocks.
6.	Click the Create button.
7.	When the About Microsoft Outlook dialog box appears, hold down Ctrl-Alt-Shift and click OK.
8.	Use your up and down arrow keys to play the game.

1.	Open Word 2000.
2.	Start a new document.
3.	Type =rand(200,99) and press Enter.
4.	Wait several seconds, and you'll have more repeats of the phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" than you can shake a stick at.

1.	Open Microsoft Word 2000.
2.	Press the F1 key.
3.	In the Help dialog box, select the Answer Wizard tab.
4.	In the "What Would You Like To Do" text box, enter Cast.
5.	Click the Search button.
6.	Under the "Microsoft Office 2000 User Assistant Staff" topic, click the graphic once.

1.	Open PowerPoint 2000 and select Help • About Microsoft PowerPoint.
2.	Click anywhere in the orange graphic/logo box on the left.
3.	Use your right and left arrow keys to speed up or slow down the show.

1.	Open Dreamweaver.
2.	Start a new document.
3.	In the body, type <script debuggercredits=true>var i;</script>.
4.	Save the document.
5.	Click the world icon and select Debug.

1.	Open Flash 5.0.
2.	Select Help/About.
3.	Double-click the M in the Macromedia logo before the animation stops.
4.	Click Thanks.