I’m convinced that someone at Microsoft is attempting to foist Microsoft Bob on us over and over again. It’s like a bad dream that won’t go away. For those who don’t remember, Bob was a failed and much ridiculed attempt at making a more user-friendly computing interface. Bob would pop up and tell you how to do stuff. The computing press proclaimed it really, really stupid and consumers avoided it in droves.
However, anyone who has used relatively recent versions of Microsoft Office may be thinking, "gee Bob sounds like the stupid paper clip." Bingo.
In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions in the Office newsgroups is "how do I turn off the [pick an unflattering adjective] paper clip!" The answer is: right-click, choose Options, remove the checkmark next to Use Office Assistant and click OK.
Having learned how to lose Bob’s progeny in Office, I was distressed to find that Bob’s animated heritage has been resurrected once again in the Windows XP Search feature.
On any computer, sooner or later you’ll have to search for a file. In earlier versions, you had to go into Windows Explorer, but in XP the tool is right on the Start menu. You choose Start|Search|For Files and Folders. And, imagine my surprise, when an animated dog appeared – hey look, it’s my new "search companion." (Oh spare me!)
To lose the dog, click Change Preferences at the bottom of the Search box. Then click Without an animated screen character. The dog goes away. Click Back to return to the main Search page. And once again, you’ve taken control and returned Son of Bob to the user interface graveyard where he belongs.