The Clippy mascot
Microsoft

“It looks like you’re reading a blog post. Would you like help?” Microsoft’s famous (or infamous?) Clippy mascot has been in hiding for years. Now, Clippy could be about to return—but Microsoft is holding it hostage.

If you want Clippy back, head to Twitter and like this tweet. When the tweet gets to 20,000 likes, Microsoft promises to replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with that classic Clippy emoji.

Update: We made it to 20,000 likes!

Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately), Clippy won’t pop up and help you write a letter after it returns. It’ll just sit in the emoji list waiting for you to insert a paperclip. But, after Microsoft gets to 20,000 likes on Twitter, at least you’ll be inserting the right paperclip.

Now, how about replacing the dog emoji with Rover? Clippy may be beloved (or hated), but Rover was an important part of Microsoft’s best operating system. We’re talking about Microsoft Bob and not Windows XP, of course.

(But Rover was a part of both if you happen to prefer Windows XP to Microsoft Bob for some reason.)

Profile Photo for Chris Hoffman Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He's written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader's Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.
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