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14 March 2008

A Very Special Google Docs Feature (Potential Spoiler)

http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-03-14.html

By Tony Ruscoe & Philipp Lenssen

Unless something is going really, really wrong with Google, we have a suspicion this is just an upcoming April Fool’s joke for Google. If that’s the case, then note that spoilers follow below.

OK. Remember Microsoft’s Clippy, that annoying “living” and talking paper clip, popping up with useless tips whenever you wanted to get some work done in Word? It looks like Google Docs is preparing integrating a similar feature called Cliply. Instead of a paper clip, this time it’s a living Google logo (cached image). And it probably will be just as annoying as Clippy was. The following code showed up live in the source of a Google Docs document...

if (writely.Vars.getSiteVar('enable_cliply')) { // Beta
document.getElementById('newlogo').src = '/images/cliply.gif';
writely.Cliply.init({
'strength': 0.4,
'dexterity': 0.9,
'constitution': 0.7,
'intelligence': 0.1,
'wisdom': 0.3,
'charisma': 0.8});
}

But again, before you sign in to Google to delete your account forever, remember (even when Google’s apps are moving in the direction of Microsoft Office) this is very likely just an April Fool’s prank or general easter egg by Google engineers. If not, then be scared, very, very scared... as Clippy is about to return!

Update: We now got confirmation it’s not an April Fool’s hoax preparation... it’s indeed an easter egg.

Labels: blogoscoped, google

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