Bob Island 2 Mac OS

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This page is for the original Monkey Island. For the 2009 remaster, see The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.

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Mac
The Secret of Monkey Island
Developers
Engines
Original
Alternative
Release dates
DOSOctober 15, 1990
Mac OS (Classic)October 15, 1990
Taxonomy
ControlsPoint and select
GenresAdventure
ThemesComedy, Piracy
SeriesMonkey Island
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Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island1990
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge1991
The Curse of Monkey Island1997
Escape from Monkey Island2000
Tales of Monkey Island2009
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition2009
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge2010
  • 1Availability
    • 1.2Version differences
  • 2Essential improvements
  • 3Game data
  • 6Audio
  • 7Other information

Key points

Special Edition includes a 'classic mode' that closely resembles the original. The original game's data files can be extracted and used with ScummVM.
Can be run under ScummVM.

Availability[edit]

SourceDRMNotesKeysOS
Retail 'Dial-A-Pirate' code wheel for early diskette versions.
Later diskette versions, and the CD-ROM edition is DRM free.
This game is not available digitally.

Demo[edit]

A demo can be downloaded here and played using DOSBox. It has different puzzles and dialogue compared to the full version.

Version differences[edit]

Apart from the Demo version, there have been three DOS releases of this game with different video and audio options.

EGA version[edit]

This version shipped on diskette, and offers support for

  • Video : Hercules, CGA, Tandy, MCGA, EGA and VGA graphics.
  • Audio : PC Speaker, Tandy, Game Blaster and Adlib sound.
Despite it offering options for MCGA and VGA, it only supports up to 16 colours.
To minimise the number of disks needed for distribution, this version lacked Roland MT-32 support. Roland MT-32 support is available as a separate free download.

VGA256 version[edit]

This version shipped on diskette, and offers support for

  • Video : EGA, MCGA and VGA graphics. EGA will be in 16 colours, while MCGA and VGA are in 256 colours.
  • Audio: PC Speaker, Tandy, Game Blaster, Adlib and Roland MT-32 sound.

CD-ROM Enhanced version[edit]

This version, shipped on CD-ROM, and offers support for

  • Video : EGA, MCGA and VGA graphics. EGA will be in 16 colours, while MCGA and VGA are in 256 colours.
  • Audio: PC Speaker, Adlib, Sound Blaster and Roland MT-32 sound.

In addition the CD-ROM has 24 digital audio tracks sampled from a MT-32 for background music during the game.

It uses the updated game engine from Monkey Island 2, and uses icons for inventory instead of text.

Essential improvements[edit]

Compatibility on modern systems[edit]

The classic version can be played on modern systems using DOSBox or ScummVM.

Sound Blaster 486 patch[edit]

If your running the game in ScummVM, this patch is irrelevant

A patch[1] is available to solve problems with Sound Blaster and 486 or faster computers for the VGA256 edition of the game. The patch is available simply as MONKEY.EXE, and replaces the MONKEY.EXE that came with the game.

Before replacing your MONKEY.EXE, check your existing interpreter version by running MONKEY ?. The replacement interpreter is version 5.0.18. If your existing interpreter version is newer, don't replace it.
This update does NOT add a Sound Blaster audio option. Like interpreter version before it, Sound Blaster cards will use the Adlib option with this interpreter.

Roland MT-32 patch[edit]

A patch[2] was made available for adding Roland MT-32 support to the EGA diskette versions of the game that lacked the support. The patch is available as a self-extracting ZIP file named MONKEYUP.EXE that extracts to DISK09.LEC.

After the update, running MONKEY ? will not show a Roland option. Despite this, starting the game with MONKEY R will attempt to use the Roland MT-32.

Ultimate Talkie Edition[edit]

Uses the 2009 'Special Edition' version to create a fan patched[3] version that adds bug fixes and speech. And unlike the Special Edition version, can be run from ScummVM, DOS or DOSBox.

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

Bob Island 2 Mac Os Download

MONKEY.EXE options - EGA edition
MONKEY.EXE options - VGA edition
MONKEY.EXE options - CD-ROM Enhanced Version
The game auto detects the hardware on each startup. There is no configuration file.
It is possible to override the detection by specifying options behind MONKEY.EXE

Save game data location[edit]

SystemLocation
DOS <path-to-game>SAVEGAME.*
Mac OS (Classic)

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

ScummVM 2.1+ supports cloud saves on third-party cloud storage services. See the ScummVM documentation for details.

Video[edit]

Graphics featureStateNotes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
WindowedFor DOSBox toggle withAlt+ Enter(see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Borderless fullscreen windowedSee the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)For DOSBox use an unofficial build (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
60 FPS and 120+ FPS

Input[edit]

Keyboard and mouseStateNotes
RemappingFor DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivityFor DOSBox set in the DOSBox configuration file.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Controller types

Audio[edit]

Audio featureStateNotes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Red Book CD audioCD-ROM rerelease only, all other releases use MIDI or the sound card's synthesis capabilities.
General MIDI audioSupports Roland MT-32-compatible MIDI. Use ScummVM to use the MT-32 without losing the digital Ad Lib sound effects.

Localizations

LanguageUIAudioSubNotes
English
French
GreekFan translation. Download here.
Spanish

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specsSupportedNotes
DOS video modesHercules, CGA, MCGA, EGA, Tandy/PCjr, VGASupported video modes depend on edition

System requirements[edit]

DOS
Minimum[4]Recommended
Operating system (OS)3.16.22
Processor (CPU)Intel 8088
Intel 8086
System memory (RAM)640 kB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU) Hercules, CGA, MCGA, EGA, Tandy/PCjrVGA
The CD-ROM release requires an Intel 286 CPU.
Mac OS
Minimum[5]Recommended
Operating system (OS)6.0.79.2.2
Processor (CPU)Motorola 68020
System memory (RAM)2 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)

References

  1. Lucasfilm game patches - last accessed on 2020-06-26
  2. Lucasfilm game patches - last accessed on 2020-06-26
  3. Monkey Island 1 Ultimate Talkie Edition Builders - last accessed on 2020-06-28
  4. The Secret of Monkey Island for DOS (1990) Tech Info - MobyGames - last accessed on 2020-04-04
  5. The Secret of Monkey Island for Macintosh (1992) Tech Info - MobyGames - last accessed on 2020-04-04
Microsoft Bob
Developer(s)Microsoft
Initial releaseMarch 10, 1995; 26 years ago[1]
Final release
Operating systemWindows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, XP[2]
TypeGUI
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.microsoft.com

Microsoft Bob was a Microsoftsoftware product intended to provide a more user-friendly interface for the Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems, supplanting the Windows Program Manager. The program was released on March 11, 1995 and discontinued in early 1996. Microsoft Bob presented screens showing a 'house', with 'rooms' that the user could go to containing familiar objects corresponding to computer applications—for instance, a desk with pen and paper, a checkbook, and other items. In this case, clicking on the pen and paper would open the word processor.

A cartoon dog named Rover and other cartoon characters provided guidance using speech balloons. Rover and a few others later returned in Windows XP as 'Search Companions'.

Upon release, Microsoft Bob was criticized in the media and did not gain wide acceptance with users, which resulted in its discontinuation.

History[edit]

Microsoft Bob was released in March 1995 (before Windows 95 was released), although it had been widely publicized prior to that date under the codename 'Utopia'.[3][4] The project leader for Bob was Karen Fries, a Microsoft researcher. The design was based on research by Professors Clifford Nass and Byron Reeves of Stanford University.[5]Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates, was marketing manager for the product.[6] Microsoft originally purchased the domain name bob.com from Boston-area techie Bob Antia, but later traded it to Bob Kerstein for the windows2000.com domain name.[7]

Applications[edit]

A screenshot of the 'family room' area of the Microsoft Bob software, including the 'Assistant' character Rover.

Bob included various office suite programs such as a finance application and a word processor. The user interface was designed to simplify the navigational experience for novice computer users.

Similar to early graphical shells like Jane, the main interface is portrayed as the inside of a house, with different rooms corresponding to common real-world room styles such as a kitchen or family room. Each room contains decorations and furniture, as well as icons that represent applications. Bob offers the user the option of fully customizing the entire house. The user has full control over decorating each room, and can add, remove, or reposition all objects. The user can also add or remove rooms from the house and change the destinations of each door. There is also a feature in which Bob offers multiple themes for room designs and decorations, such as contemporary and postmodern.[8]

The applications built into Bob are represented by matching decorations – for example, clicking on a clock opens the calendar, while a pen and paper represent the word processor. The user can also add shortcuts to applications on their computer. These shortcuts display the icon inside various styles of decorations such as boxes and picture frames.[8]

Bob included the ability to install new applications, but because of the failure of the product only a single add-on application package, Microsoft Great Greetings, was ever released.

Released right as the Internet was beginning to become popular, Bob offered an email client with which a user could subscribe to MCI Mail, a dial-up email account. The price was $5.00 per month to send up to 15 emails per month. Each email was limited to 5000 characters, and each additional email after the limit was reached was an additional 45 cents. A toll-free phone number had to be called to set up the account.[9]

Bob Island 2 Mac Os Catalina

Bob features 'Assistants', cartoon characters intended to help the user navigate the virtual house or perform tasks in the main interface or within the built-in applications.

Gateway 2000 edition[edit]

An edition of Microsoft Bob was bundled with the Gateway 2000 computer around 1995. The Gateway Edition contained Gateway branding on the login screen along with additional rooms and backgrounds not seen in the retail version. One additional room was the attic, which contained the box to a Gateway 2000 computer. Along with the additional rooms, there were more icons that appeared by default in the new rooms.[10]

Bob Island 2 Mac Os X

Reception and legacy[edit]

Microsoft Bob was one of Microsoft's more visible product failures.[11] Despite being discontinued before Windows 95 was released, Microsoft Bob continued to be severely criticized in reviews and popular media.[12] In 2017, Melinda Gates acknowledged that the software 'needed a more powerful computer than most people had back then'.[6]

Bob received the 7th place in PC World magazine's list of the 25 worst tech products of all time,[13] number one worst product of the decade by CNET.com,[14] and a spot in a list of the 50 worst inventions published by Time magazine, who called Bob 'overly cutesy' and an 'operating system designed around Clippy'.[15] Microsoft's Steve Ballmer mentioned Bob as an example of a situation in which 'we decided that we have not succeeded and let's stop [now]'.[16]

Microsoft employee Raymond Chen wrote in an article that an encrypted copy of Bob was included on Windows XP install CDs to take up space, and to prevent piracy.[11] It was thought that adding an additional 30 megabytes to the disc (in the time of dial up internet) would slow users of 56k modems down when they attempted to download the software illegally.[17] In November 2020, retired Microsoft engineer, David Plummer confessed to be the one who put an encrypted copy of Microsoft Bob onto the Windows XP installation media. The installer would check for the 'blob of Bob' and if you had the 'OEM blob' you could only use an OEM product key.[18][19] Tech journalist Harry McCracken called the story 'a delightfully urban legend-y tale' and noted its similarities to an April Fools' Day joke claiming Bob was hidden in Windows Vista.[20]

Rover, the software's dog mascot, reappeared in Windows XP's File Search function.

The popular (and decidedly infamous) typefaceComic Sans was created for (but not used in) Microsoft Bob.[21]

See also[edit]

Bob Island 2 Mac Os Update

Microsoft

References[edit]

  1. ^ ab'Lifecycle Information for Microsoft Obsolete Products Support'. support.microsoft.com. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 14 August 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. ^'Raymond Chen Discusses Microsoft Bob'. technet.microsoft.com. Microsoft. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. ^'MS plans Utopia for PC users'. Computer Shoqqer. April 1994.
  4. ^'Microsoft makes for Utopia'. Personal Computer World. May 1994.
  5. ^McCracken, Harry (March 31, 2010). 'The Bob Chronicles'. PC World. IDG. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  6. ^ abGates, Melinda (October 8, 2017). 'This failure taught me a lesson I'll never forget'. LinkedIn. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  7. ^Lea, Graham (11 November 1999). 'Windows2000.com owner sells domain to Microsoft'. The Register. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
  8. ^ abNathan Lineback. 'Microsoft Bob'. Nathan's Toasty Technology. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  9. ^McCracken, Harry (29 March 2010). 'A Guided Tour of Microsoft Bob'. Technologizer. Technologizer, Inc. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  10. ^Rose, Daniel. 'The 'Bob Home''. DanielSays.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  11. ^ abChen, Raymond (July 2008). 'Windows Confidential: History Taking Up Space'. TechNet Magazine. Microsoft. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  12. ^Dvorak, John C. (16 August 2004). 'The Bottom 10: Worst Software Disasters'. PC World. IDG. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  13. ^Tynan, Dan (26 March 2006). 'The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time'. PC World. IDG. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  14. ^Merritt, Tom (30 April 2007). 'CNET Top 5: Worst products in a decade'. CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  15. ^Fletcher, Dan (27 May 2010). 'The 50 Worst Inventions'. Time. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  16. ^Cowley, Stacy (31 July 2006). 'Ballmer Analyzes Microsoft's 'One Big' Vista Mistake'. CRN Magazine. The Channel Company. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
  17. ^Archiveddocs. 'Raymond Chen discusses Microsoft Bob'. docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  18. ^Speed, Richard. 'Retired engineer confesses to role in sliding Microsoft Bob onto millions of XP install CDs'. www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  19. ^David, Plummer (2020-11-24). '04.Secret History of Microsoft Bob - by Retired Microsoft Engineer Davepl'. Dave's Garage - YouTube.
  20. ^McCracken, Harry (29 March 2010). 'Windows XP: A Free Copy of Bob in Every Box?'. Technologizer. Technologizer, Inc. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  21. ^Strizver, Ilene. 'The Story Behind Comic Sans'. Fonts.com. Retrieved 2013-06-15.

External links[edit]

This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 20 September 2012, and does not reflect subsequent edits.
  • The GUI Gallery: Microsoft Bob' Examining Bob in the context of other graphical user interfaces
  • A more in-depth article about Microsoft Bob(in German)
  • Video of the Microsoft Bob in action on YouTube
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Microsoft_Bob&oldid=1020611735'