Enterprise open source Toolkit

Story: The horrible history of Clippy

• 
• 

With friends like that...

I guess that for kids, Clippy might have some redeemable qualities – but that's no rational for Microsoft to include that piece of excruciating code as standard in Office 97. Lots of kids watch the six pm news but that doesn't mean we need Barney the purple dinosaur as a news anchor.

As for Microsoft's involvement in the schools – it is not surprising at all that the company that has the monopoly in PC operating systems should try and sow up the lucrative education market too. I am not sure that most primary schools decided to use Office because they saw the friendly face of Clippy as a way of building a bridge to the little cherubs they teach, more likely – they didn't have any choice back then. However Linux and open source Office alternatives are beginning to take hold in the education sector – which is traditionally very price sensitive and doesn't need the full functionality that Office offers. Kids might like Clippy but they don't need Macros.

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

Full Talkback thread