Karl Klammer (Microsoft)
Karl Klammer was an assistant for Microsoft Office . The Office Assistant was intended to support Microsoft Office users and had the appearance of an interactive, animated cartoon paper clip with eyes that was "appealing" to the user in speech bubbles . In the English version of Windows the wizard was called Clippit (nickname Clippy ), from the English word for paper clip, paperclip .
The wizard was linked to the Office Help content and was included with Microsoft Office for Windows (versions 97 through 2003), Microsoft Publisher (versions 98 through 2003), and Microsoft Office for Mac (versions 98 through 2004).
function
In the above versions of Microsoft Office, the Office Assistant was activated by default and Karl Klammer was preselected as the appearance. The assistant observed the work of the user in the background and appeared automatically when certain triggers (for example, writing the salutation in a letter). He asked the user if they needed help or gave them advice on how to work more efficiently. In the program settings, users could also select alternative characters and configure or switch off the function of the assistant. Nevertheless, many users took the feature negatively. Microsoft Agent technology was behind the assistant .
history
The office assistant, who appears as an animated cartoon character, is said to be based on a personal initiative by Melinda Gates . The Microsoft employee and wife of the company boss also led the development of Microsoft Bob , a special Windows user interface for inexperienced users that acted with similar animated characters.
The design of the figure comes from Kevan J. Atteberry. In addition to the paper clip, other characters were available as alternatives: the magician Merlin, the cat Links, the robot F1, the genie in a bottle, a caricature by Albert Einstein called Genius, the monkey Bonzi, the bird Peedy and the dogs Rover and Rocky. The characters could each perform a series of “gestures” (animated movements) for specific situations.
The office assistant was first launched on December 30, 1996. For the Office 2000 version released on January 27, 1999, the figures, including Karl Klammer, have been graphically revised.
In the Office XP version (released on May 31, 2001) Microsoft deactivated the assistant by default and confirmed the unpopularity. Since the Office Assistant continued to attract criticism, even from Microsoft employees, it has been completely removed from the Office 2007 version (January 30, 2007) and Office 2008 for Mac (January 15, 2008).
reception
The character has often been ridiculed and parodied in popular culture. The Microsoft developers referred to him internally as "TFC" (the fucking clown) .
Web links
- Judith Horchert: What became of Karl Klammer? In: Spiegel Online July 29, 2015.
- Annika Demgen: 25 years of MS Office: Do you still remember Karl Klammer? In: Netzwelt.de August 1, 2014.
- Clippy: Even early testers hated 'creepy' office assistants at Winfuture.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Jan Freeman: Finding the grammar checker's frailties. The Boston Globe, February 25, 2007; accessed March 1, 2018 .
- ↑ Claire Cozens: Microsoft cuts 'Mr Clippy' , The Guardian, April 11, 2001
- ^ Microsoft banks on anti-clippy sentiment. USA Today, June 2, 2002; accessed March 1, 2018 .
- ↑ Judith Horchert: What actually became of Karl Klammer? Spiegel Online, July 29, 2015, accessed March 1, 2018 .
- ↑ Clippy, Merlin or Rover - Karl Klammer for your website | ITrig. Retrieved March 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Microsoft tool "Clippy" gets pink slip. CNET, February 2, 2002, accessed March 1, 2018 .
- ↑ Chris Gentilviso: The 50 Worst Inventions. Time , May 27, 2010; accessed March 1, 2018 .
- ↑ Steven Sinofsky: PM at Microsoft. Microsoft, December 15, 2005, accessed March 10, 2018 .