Office Assistant

Remember the days of Microsoft Office 2000(ish), with the Paperclip and his friends? According to Wikipedia, the Office Assistants were in use from 1997-2003, and included not only Clippit (the original paperclip), but also Dot, Hoverbot, Genius, Office Logo, Mother Nature, Scribble, Power Pup, Will, F1 (robot), Links (cat), and Rocky (dog). These adorable animations interacted with the user, performing such tricks as rolling over, spinning, fetching a bone, or conjuring a spell.

Each action was meant to be associated with an office function (saving a document caused F1 to open a compartment in his metallic structure and drop a piece of paper into it; Rocky retrieved the mail when new Outlook messages came through), but could be cycled through randomly at a user's will.

Some of the earlier Office Assistants who helped us save, search, and smile.

So, having rediscovered these adorable creatures (and lamented their elimination from Office 2007+ software), I wanted to remind everyone, especially younger generations, about their existence. And, really, I wanted to put together this animated GIF. (Please, if anyone knows, is it pronounced "G-I-F," "jiff (as in gist)," or "gif (as in green)?")

Adobe Photoshop's Animation toolbar is quite fun. I should play with it more often.

And for those interesting in making fun of Clippit, there are not only plenty of jokes out there, but even a service for making your own. Create some, and comment with some links!

This kind takes a little more effort, as you'll need to make a custom image.

So have fun making your own. Here's what they could look like: