Easter Eggs: Hidden functions in Windows, Google, Facebook & Co.
Programs and services such as Windows, Google and Wikipedia are part of everyday life for most PC users. Easter eggs are hidden inconspicuously in their source codes and interfaces: secret functions that the programmers have placed there. First and foremost, they are meant to be fun – which, however, does not always completely rule out their usefulness. An example of such a gimmick: In the popular media player Winamp llamas are hidden, their heads bobbing to the music being played. To see the animals, click on a tiny diamond with a certain pressed key combination. The gem, in turn, is only visible at a specific window size. The following photo series will help you with instructions.
Easter Eggs: Secrets in Software and Web Services
Google Easter Eggs: Games and Do a Barrel Roll
Google’s own “Pac-Man” is easy to find – the search query says it all.
Hardly anyone uses Google to the fullest. Googling it, but it’s really pointless: it works thanks to funny commands, some of whose functions will waste your time. You rotate the search results, start a “Pac-Man” game, let words blink – similar to the early days of the Internet with the HTML
Google commands and settings: tips to search the web better
Firefox Easter Eggs and Windows Easter Eggs
In Firefox and Windows hide undreamt-of extras: while you contact extraterrestrials in Firefox and switch on additional address bars, you activate a billiard ball screensaver in Windows with a registry hack – and make the start button light up permanently. The latter works on Windows Vista and 7. For Windows 10, there is a trick to open the “All Apps” list without a click – a mouse pointer movement is sufficient. This works with Windows 10 1507/1511, i.e. outdated Windows 10 versions – Windows Vista and 7 are also old. The four systems are comparatively insecure, but the focus is on the fun factor: the curious can read short stories about the funkiest functions without danger. If you want to copy the partly system-related tricks in a safe way, use a second PC only for software tests (not everyone has one) or install Windows in a virtual machine. If you want several Firefox address bars in maximum splendor, the test mode makes sense here too: Firefox 57 and higher limit the number of address bars to two. Two bars are quantitatively better, but you don’t benefit from them in practice.
If Windows 8(.1) is your operating system of choice, listen up: A sequence of clicks that doesn’t seem very logical causes the missing title bar transparency to return – unfortunately with graphic errors. This is more of a bug than an (Easter Egg) feature. The tip series above also reveals how to surf in Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and 11 using HTML help – using a run dialog and a URL command. The pseudo-browser that opens above it has no address bar and is therefore inconvenient.
Adult mode in Firefox
Web surfers going online through Firefox need adult supervision. At least for a certain function, as its wording once suggested.
A hidden internal Firefox page should not be used “without adult supervision”. This has nothing to do with private windows, sometimes jokingly called porn mode. It’s about:networking page. Mozilla has since removed the wording. When asked, the company confirmed that the warning was intended to be humorous and that it was an internal feature. about:networking is still available. What you can do with the professional feature is the subject of a guide:
Secret Smileys in Skype
The instant messenger landscape is more diverse on mobile phones than on PCs. Anyone who chats on the computer accesses it in many cases Skype. Did you know that typing commands causes smileys to appear? Type about (drunk) in and press [Eingabe], a confused, drunken face appears. Other commands show a man with his behind – or this person including a Santa Claus hat. Speaking of Christmas: The VLC media player virtually puts on a red celebratory cap: From December 20th to 31st you will see the playback tool decorated in such a way that a trick makes the robe available all year round. VLC also streams what’s happening on the desktop into a separate window with a slight delay. You gain something useful from this, since you record the content as a video in AVI container format (capturing) – and thus make a recording of a Windows trick or problem, for example.
Secret icons in popular programs
More mysteries in software
By no means all, but quite a few developers include alternative program icons in their applications. As a rule, the software does not bother you with this. Have a look at your programs – and consider whether one of the (perhaps) available alternative icons meets with a positive response. The following article provides an overview of which applications contain additional “secret” symbols:
