Microsoft's 'Clippy' Office assistant resurrected, then killed
Back in the day, when Microsoft Office wasn't really popular, it had an animated assistant called Clippy. Clippy kept popping up in the middle of user activities to help them use the software and get the most out of it. In 2001, Clippy was retired for good, but just recently, Microsoft revived its beloved Assistant - only to kill it once again. Here's what happened.
Clippy returned in Microsoft's Teams software
Those who used Office 97 must remember Clippy as the little paper clip that showed up with 'soulful eyes' and 'Groucho eyebrows'. It popped up to offer useful hints but often ended up annoying the user, which ultimately led to its demise before the release of Office XP. However, just recently, Clippy returned as an animated sticker pack for Microsoft's Teams Chat software.
Then, it was killed again
The surprising resurrection of Clippy refreshed the memories of the loyal assistant; it was available on Office developer GitHub page, where any Team user could download and use the sticker pack. However, sadly enough, the return didn't last long and Clippy disappeared the very next day. This irked many Clippy lovers, who have now signed a petition for its permanent return.
Here's what Microsoft said on Clippy's second death
"Clippy has been trying to get his job back since 2001, and his brief appearance on GitHub was another attempt," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge, without explaining the sudden firing. "While we appreciate the effort, we have no plans to bring Clippy to Teams."
Internal issue may have cost Clippy its new position
While we may never know why Clippy lost its new job, sources from within the company told The Verge that the branding side of Microsoft's business wasn't really happy with the move. As a result, they called for immediate removal of Clippy from the GitHub repository. Either way, if you want the sticker to return, you can vote on Microsoft's feedback forum.
