What is Microsoft Agent?
Microsoft
Agent was a technology developed by Microsoft that allows for users to
interact with animated characters inside applications and web pages. It used
text to speech engines to allow the animated characters to speak to the end
user. These animated characters were called "Microsoft Agents". It came
preinstalled with Windows beginning with Windows 98. Microsoft Agent
continued to release alongside all Windows versions until Windows 7 in 2009,
following Microsoft's discontinuation of Microsoft Agent. The latest release
of Microsoft Agent was
version
2.0 on October 12th, 1998.
Microsoft Agent allowed for users of the software to make characters through
the
Microsoft Agent Character Editor. Four default characters were made by
Microsoft on the original page, including
Genie,
Merlin,
Peedy, and
Robby. Some other
notable characters are those featured in the Microsoft Office suite
throughout 1997 to 2003, including
Clippy,
Dot, or
Office Logo.
The Windows XP search assistants are also Microsoft Agents, including
Rover. Another
mentionable Microsoft Agent is
Bonzi, a purple
gorilla that came bundled
BonziBUDDY until
its discontinuation. The Bonzi character later received a lot of attention
after being a meme following multiple meme videos on it before a streamer
eventually streamed an XP destruction causing the popularity of the Bonzi
character to rise.
wanna have some fun? click on the links below!
Homemade Agents (Coming Soon...)