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- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 13165 votes
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- By the end of 2026, how useful do you think agentic/multi-agent AI systems will actually be in your daily work or personal projects? Posted on March 11th, 2026 | 40 comments
linux clippy (Score:5, Funny)
I do wish Linux had Clippy for some of its apps.
"Hi, I'm Clippy! Would you like to
with me today?"Re: clippy (Score:2, Funny)
Re: clippy (Score:5, Informative)
The worst is when the clippy is enabled and installed on NTFS and you don't have permission to rename the directory.
Alas, I am the epitome of the power freak ;-)
Re: clippy (Score:3, Informative)
You can simply "turn it off" in Office, without doing something silly like re-naming a program folder.
Just right click on the office assistant, go to the "options" menu, and uncheck "use the office assistant."
Re: clippy (Score:5, Insightful)
Fear of incomplete compatability with
I will however admit that this is unfortunate. It's sad that any data format is proprietary. Especially one for an application that is such a run of the mill commodity.
-Craig
Re: clippy (Score:3, Funny)
>Fear of incomplete compatability with
>and
That old F in Fud strikes again.
>I will however admit that this is unfortunate.
Yep, so do your part to change the status quo.
Anyway, years ago, I was running a less that cutting edge machine. I tried running MS Office but it ground my machine to almost a halt. Now many of us know that the mouse and it's pointer will keep working on a Windows machine after most other services have given up; the mouse also seems to get priority over most other devices. Ergo, when the machine appears to lock, the mouse still moves - though precious little can be done with it.
This brings me to my point:
When my machine was trying to run MS Office, it got so loaded down with processing that the mouse would not move much at all. However, clippy was still happily dancing on a background that refused to update itself. Consistently. So, what seems to get more priority than the most important system services? You guessed it: CLIPPY!
Re: clippy (Score:3, Funny)
What's the piracy rate of MS Office products again?
How did clippy get started? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How did clippy get started? (Score:5, Interesting)
Combining that with the fact that Clippy uses modal input (it steals the mouse, and won't let you continue until you've answered its questions), led to strong dissatisfaction with Clippy, but in theory Clippy or some descendent really should be added to simplify interaction with the operating system. (Thus my answer to the quiz; I wish Linux had something like it.)
Re:How did clippy get started? (Score:5, Funny)
"NYAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHHHH" *klunka* *klunka* *klunka* *klunka*
In other words, it's just irritating.
Re:How did clippy get started? (Score:5, Funny)
"It looks like you're writing a letter, Mr. Anderson. Tell me, what good is a letter when you're unable to type?"
Re:How did clippy get started? (Score:4, Informative)
Bonzi is a bit too saccharin for my taste, but in essence they fill the same niche. [agentland.com]
Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:5, Funny)
Bill hasn't forgotten.. the project manager for Bob was Melinda French, who, soon after it was released, became Mrs. Gates.
Maybe it was the Scuzz the Rat fetish...
Re:Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder if a copy of the original "working" version could be found?
simon
Re:Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Clippy and co. are holdovers from Microsoft Bob (Score:3, Funny)
I managed to find a real original cd of it.
I was going to use it as a coaster, but it seems far too important to ruin. 'We must learn from history, or be doomed to watch Microsoft repeat it', I always say.
Microsoft Bob for Dummies (Score:5, Funny)
I choked back a few less polite comments; reminded myself that it was good that she was at least learning how to use a computer (in some way); and tolder her that I didn't think they wrote one, but I'd check anyway. Suprisingly, there were non in print. To which she said computers were too complicated and someone make a simple one...
I wonder if she uses a computer today...
VIgor (Score:5, Funny)
Well... (Score:2)
Re:linux clippy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:linux clippy (Score:2, Funny)
Clippy is VERY helpful! (Score:2, Funny)
Pic [dircon.co.uk]
Error messages (Score:5, Funny)
CLIPPIT has performed an illegal operation and will be arrested
Woohoo!
Re:Error messages (Score:2)
But for some reason, if you click on the link that's supposed to take you to a VBA script that will disable the clippy, it instead takes you to an article about the Giger worm that reformats your hard drive! Talk about extreme measures!
One thing... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:One thing... (Score:2)
Sheesh, people, there already *is* one for linux. (Score:5, Informative)
Clippy's new home. (Score:2)
Too suggestive! (Score:2, Funny)
I't Not the Idea, It's the Implementation (Score:5, Insightful)
---
PATH=pretending
Re:I't Not the Idea, It's the Implementation (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I't Not the Idea, It's the Implementation (Score:3, Informative)
The idea for intelligent agents goes back some ways. Ever read Pohl's Heechee novels? In the second one (I think Beyond the Blue Event Horizon) they use intelligent agents as various kinds of avatars to do shopping, etc. The difference is that these are a lot more intelligent, and only show up when called for.
Gratuitous Moving Animation (Score:3, Insightful)
Not there in the first place. (Score:3, Insightful)
What about 'easily not installed'? I made sure that box was unchecked when I installed Office.
I make it a habbit to crawl through all the install options of software programs like that because they are always way too generous. Configuring/removing afterward is sometimes impossible or takes more of my time.
Clippy for Linux? (Score:3, Funny)
Have a look at Vigor [sourceforge.net]. To quote the webpage, "Vigor (pronouced like "Igor", Dr. Frankenstein's assistant) [is] the popular Unix editor vi with the addition of the Vigor Assistant"
Tux... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Tux... (Score:2)
Re:Tux... (Score:5, Funny)
Vigor, the vi assistant (Score:3, Redundant)
Obligatory funny Clippy pics (Score:5, Funny)
Clippy arriving at the perfect time [shat.net]
Too much clutter [shat.net]
Clippy cops a 'tude [shat.net]
Even Clippy has a pet [shat.net]
You knew this one was coming [shat.net]
It's funny. Laugh.
-s
Re:Obligatory funny Clippy pics (Score:5, Funny)
Clippy helps the President [shacknet.nu]
Re:Obligatory funny Clippy pics (Score:5, Interesting)
WTF??!! (Score:4, Interesting)
Random quotes from the page:
My name is Clippy, and Office XP has me sweating (and rusting).
I've taken over this space to share my pathetic story and show off my skills as a Web designer.
For years I've told you what to do.
I'll be updating this site with new material-games, videos, tortured rants-over the next few weeks. (Yes, I use XML. Duh!) Make sure to come back. After all my years of service, don't you owe it to me?
Clippy's TO DO List
Send out résumé
Figure out my dot-net strategy
Sign up for yoga class
Get references from Gates, Ballmer, Mom
And then the music video, and the AYB pic. It's just too much. Does anyone know anything about this? How can M$ satirize themselves in this brutal fashion? Has the world gone crazy? Anyone care to explain?
Re:WTF??!! (Score:3, Informative)
Contrary to popular misconception, the folks at Microsoft are not entirely without sense of humor. =) (Their humor usually only shows up in Microsoft Games, and even there somewhat unfrequently. They keep their "serious" applications dead serious - they try to look professional.)
They were also aware that Clippy was annoying, so they made it somewhat less annoying in OfficeXP.
And, to honor this "demotion", they set up this web site, finally loosing some of their strong grip on humor suppressing department.
And I can understand this. If Clippy was pain to use, imagine the pain to develop it. If someone needs to blow off some steam on this topic, that'd be MS =)
Re:WTF??!! (Score:5, Funny)
If you're a programmer or you get in on their beta stuff, you tend to get a little more of the exposed humor. For instance, when you use VB for Office, the prefix for the Office Assistant programmability object (at least in Office 97) was tfc. "tfc" you say? According to some in-the-knows at MS, the acronym tfc came about when the Office usability guys demo'd the paperclip to BillG and he called it "that f*cking clown." The programmers weren't too fond of the thing either (another interesting fact: it's turned off on default installs of MS Office at the MS corporate campus) and started using the tfc acronym to refer to the thing.
Re:Obligatory funny Clippy pics (Score:2, Funny)
It looks like you're writing a worm. [ely.ath.cx]
Re:Obligatory funny Clippy pics (Score:2, Insightful)
The most effective humour is concise.
Clippy sucks (Score:2, Informative)
The other day I typed an email address in Outlook, and Outlook very helpfully changed the address to another address for the same person in my address book. As if I didn't know WTF I was doing. Oh, thanks Microsoft!
Re:Clippy sucks (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Clippy sucks (Score:2)
Well, whaddya expect when you use a product that encourages people to send emails to other people's names, rather than email addresses?
I never understood the point of "address books" being sorted by meatspace names and MSFT's encouraging of users to type in the meatspace name and ignore the email address.
I mean, you don't write "Joe Blow" on an envelope and toss it in the mail, you write Joe Blow's snail-address. And until very recently, you didn't phone Joe Blow, you dialed his phone number. By extension, you don't send email to Joe Blow, you send email to joeblow@some.domain.name.
And email addresses are a hell of a lot easier to remember than either snail addresses or phone numbers, fer cryin' out loud!
FWIW, for most folks I hang out with, I can tell you their email address before I can tell you their name. (And vice versa!)
Re:Clippy sucks (Score:5, Informative)
For the most part, the addition of numbers (ZIP codes, area codes, etc.) to the system was done to aid in automation, not for the sake of humans; if they made things easier for us carbon-based lifeforms using the system, that was incidental. The e-mail addressing system was set up by geeks for geeks and computers. Now that my grandmother wants to be able to send me e-mail, she finds it a lot easier to type "Bill" than "jp_baggins".
Now, I'm not excusing Outlook's behaviour. It shouldn't automatically switch one e-mail address to another, or if it wants to, it should at least ask first, and make it possible to turn that bug^H^H^Hfeature off. But doing the address books by meatspace name rather than e-mail address does make more sense for most of the users out there.
Internet - It's not just for geeks anymore.
Hi! It looks like you're... (Score:5, Funny)
If I piss you off with this small bit of sarcasm, imagine what clippy does the second any student named Dan or Dave or anything that begins with a D start typing their name on the top of their papers.
Anyone know any good "kill clippy" flash games or anything? How about the obligitory link to that GPL's XBox game with Tux vs. Clippy?
Re:Hi! It looks like you're... (Score:2)
- Spellcheck?
Linux needs one, no doubt.See the real clippy (Score:5, Funny)
Clippy on the web (Score:4, Interesting)
Stranger than a /. poll (Score:3, Informative)
Easily turned off for me... (Score:2, Funny)
Tux, the Linux Helper (Score:5, Funny)
I've heard a suggestion that someone ought to put a Tux in AbiWord or Open Office.
*Tux waddles onto the screen*
"If you need help, RTFM. Have a nice day!"
*Tux waddles off of the screen*
Note to retarded knee-jerk mods, this is a *joke*.
Animations in general. (Score:3, Interesting)
Time was, I used to keep little windows on the screen to cover gifs and Flash. Annoying as that paper clip, which detracted how much time (on the employer's clock) trying to disable?
Never Seen It (Score:2)
Easily turned off? (Score:5, Funny)
He never could satisfactorily answer my questions anyway; he'd just dodge them. "How can I use vi keybindings with Word?" "Why is my file one hundred times larger than it needs to be?" "Why can't I save my files in an older Word format?" To which Clippy would invariably reply: "Would you like to know how to check your spelling?"
Thank you, Microsoft. If your products weren't so appallingly inferior, I never would have tried Linux.
I used my power to rid the corporation of clippy (Score:2)
So the corporate images that we ghost over for employees' new computers were getting a touch out of date, so I got updates and made some things easier. The standard Microsoft Office installation? Definitely unchecked office assistant. Microsoft Word productivity has since tripled.
Clippy Zotted for Office XP (Score:2, Informative)
the puppy (Score:4, Funny)
I'm a cat person (Score:2, Interesting)
I always found the idea of a talking paperclip rather daft.[1] Most of the time, I'd just close it.
Until I found out about the cat. Most of the time, I just leave it somewhere on the screen. I rarely ask it a question, but it' kind of cute to leave it there.
[1] The only thing worse than the default Clippy is the "Office Logo" assistent. Kind of makes me wonder what kind of people use that.
I hate to admit it (Score:3, Informative)
I know Windows has different versions besides the paperclip too, and it's been a long time since I bothered to look at them, but I seem to recall all the ones that weren't annoying just being drab. It's kind of ironic how Microsoft software tends to be much better on the Mac than it is on the PC. Remember when Microsoft disbanded the IE for Mac team because they were getting too far ahead of the Windows team?
Re:I hate to admit it (Score:2)
I believe, at some point, the Banana Junior 6000 was the official mascot for a Mac-only product. (ClarisWorks, possibly.) Still, it was one of my favorite Bloom County characters.
Re:Mac Classics smile too (Score:3, Insightful)
Eff Clippy (Score:3, Funny)
Actual Microsoft demo moment (Score:5, Funny)
For some semi-related reason, the speaker flipped over into Word, and sure enough Clippy dropped by. As he was putting it away (unused), he said "You know, I kind of had the one on my home machine trained to the questions I asked, but then my wife started using the machine and it's getting stupid again."
Dead silence from the audience, who all recoiled a bit when they realized they'd blocked out part of their day to listen to a guy who'd asked Clippy a lot of questions...
But the real question is... (Score:5, Funny)
VBScript (Score:5, Funny)
Clippy Story (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Clippy Story (Score:4, Funny)
Whoops! I've said too much!
brother of clippy (Score:2)
Thank god you can turn it off, but.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Now before all your pr0n obsessed people comment, what I was thinking was the little mini Arnold Rimmers that sing the Arnold Rimmer song on one of the later seasons of Red Dwarf. I don't know why, but those little guys crack me up every time, and I think that maybe, just maybe, they would make office assistances bearable.
Re:Thank god you can turn it off, but.... (Score:2)
"If you're in trouble he will save the day, he's brave and he's fearless come what may, without him the mission would go astray...!"
obligatory.... (Score:2, Funny)
i love this picture!
Clippy gets pummelled (Score:3, Informative)
Options (Score:2)
Clippy?
I haven't even *used* Word in over a year.
?
Animate! (Score:2, Funny)
Better than MS BOB! (Score:2)
Hahaha, all shall die! (Score:3, Funny)
Can you imagine... (Score:2)
You look like you're writing a comment.... (Score:5, Funny)
O Write it for you
O Flame CowboyNeal
O Yell '1st Post!'
O Laugh at n00bs
O Read the article
O Read the previous comments, and work out what the article said
O All of the above
Obligatory Lack of Options complaint... (Score:3, Funny)
my problems started (Score:2, Funny)
i finally force-quit Word and opened the file in BBEdit. i guess i should have done that in the first place.
as i said before, i'm not claiming that i'm not an idiot. in any case, i'm glad that at least now there is a "stop bothering me" option.
Modifiable too! (Score:5, Funny)
Fun to watch people's faces when they see "ClippyEnhanced" © tell them just how badly they made a mistake!
What about "Frightening and Lewd"? (Score:4, Funny)
I will admit that the version on my computers (Macs), which is a cheerful little Mac Plus with feet, has kept me awake through some long paper-writing sessions with his antics (slide puzzles, etc.). I just wish he didn't capture my mouse when he asks a question, and that he would stop asking me if I am writing a list or a letter. If he's so "intelligent", why doesn't he realize that I have enough familiarity with the program to format my letter by myself!
So, I usually use AbiWord or TextEdit when I am not desperate to be kept awake.
What I hate about Clippy (Score:5, Funny)
No! Wait! Fuc...
Windows RG... (Score:3, Funny)
Hmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
Hateful little puppet
Is it just me, or does that sound like a really good name for a band?
Re:another hidden poll (Score:2)
chrisd
Re:"Its" not "It's" dammit! (Score:3, Funny)
Looks like..... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow... (Score:2, Redundant)
Whoever created Clippy needs to be shot with a nailgun repeatedly until they apologize.
Re:the puppy (Score:3, Informative)
In Office 2K, the dog is called Rocky. There is also Links the cat.