Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Get the Icon!

New game
  (+14, -1)(+14, -1)
(+14, -1)
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Jane moved the mouse pointer across the screen. The Icons moved around the edge and huddled in the opposite corner.
"I'll have to be a bit more sneaky than that", she muttered to herself.

The Icons were hopping around in a state of excitement.
She took a few hurried stabs at them, missing completely. Then she feinted for one of them, and suddenly swerved and clicked on another.

Microsoft Word opened up, and she started to type the letter for the boss.
Ling, Mar 25 2005

http://www.rjlsoftw...ware/entertainment/ Computer gags and pranks [DesertFox, Mar 26 2005]

[link]






       bun
zeno, Mar 25 2005
  

       Then when you're in Word and you reach for the "Bold" button, it jumps out of the way and you have to chase after it, too. +
phundug, Mar 25 2005
  

       There was an ad like this in IBD the other day.
DrCurry, Mar 25 2005
  

       I assume that's a magazine?
Ling, Mar 25 2005
  

       When I don't clean the mouse for a while it feels like I'm playing already.   

       W32.Magistr.24876@mm did this. I think there were some others too.
swamilad, Mar 25 2005
  

       W32.Klez.H@mm as well.
Shz, Mar 25 2005
  

       //I assume that's a magazine?// Close, [Ling]. IBD=Investor's Business Daily, it's a newspaper.   

       Great idea. I'd get annoyed quickly, but still, croissant.
Machiavelli, Mar 25 2005
  

       Machiavelli: actually, no, Inglybinglydingly. I'm not quite sure why people would think a physical publication could have an ad with moving icons.
DrCurry, Mar 26 2005
  

       Ha! Sorry, I didn't read it carefully, then.
Machiavelli, Mar 26 2005
  

       I am so surprised that this isn't baked! Check out my link. It would fit in there.
DesertFox, Mar 26 2005
  

       The essence of the idea could be illustrated in a drawing, I think.
The acronym IBD also stands for several other words, the most popular of which seems to be Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Although I believe that a publication based on this topic would hardly have an advert featuring Icons running around the desktop.
Ling, Mar 27 2005
  

       DesertFox, thanks for the link.
There is one program called 'avoid' where the start button avoids the cursor. Quite similar.
Ling, Mar 27 2005
  

       public: evil. [+]
yabba do yabba dabba, Mar 30 2005
  

       Somewhat the opposite, but easily done . . .
Take a screenshot of the desktop using the printscreen key, make a bitmap and put it up as the wallpaper. Then hide some/all of the real icons somewhere.
It looks like the desktop they just left, but the pictures of the icons don't do anything at all.
baconbrain, Mar 31 2005
  

       Yes, I like that. Open a new folder and put all the real Icons inside.
I found that I could press "Prt Scr", and then paste directly (Ctrl-V) into "Paint", and then save as a .bmp.
Strangely enough, I have always pasted screen shots into Word, but never directly into Paint before. Making a bmp directly had me stumped for a few seconds.
Unfortunately for me, the IT system policy prevents using your own wallpaper.
However, Screen savers are game...anyone know how to make a screensaver from a bmp?
Oh, the irony; a screen saver that is exactly the same as the desktop.
Ling, Mar 31 2005
  

       Ah, found it..
XP Paint can over-ride the policy settings (if the IT dept. hasn't fixed the registry)
Use <File/Set as Background (centred)>

Now I have wall paper that is exactly the same as the original desktop.....

Any particular reason for lime green? He wasn't British, by any chance?
Ling, Mar 31 2005
  

       Or Kermit the Frog?
Detly, Mar 31 2005
  

       would that have been about the time of "paint everything green"?
po, Mar 31 2005
  

       I did try that exact same thing, on my desktop. The fake icons to the left, and the real icons at the right.   

       I went back after double clicking the fake icons once too many.
neelandan, Mar 31 2005
  

       This does exist, created by "Lizard's Toys". (Google it), along with a zillion other horrible wonderful pranks.
submitinkmonkey, Mar 31 2005
  

       I think the Bold icon would puff out its little chest and wait bravely for the cursor to dare to come after it. The Undo icon would merely hop back and forth, the Cut icon would disappear...
elhigh, Aug 02 2005
  

       IBS = "Icons Be Still!" = Irritable Bowel Syndrome
reensure, Aug 02 2005
  
      
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