This year’s ugly Microsoft sweater has a suggestion for you: It’s Clippy - Ars Technica

it looks similar you're trying to prosecute successful nostalgia —

Past years' sweater themes person included Minesweeper and Windows XP.

Andrew Cunningham - Nov 15, 2022 7:08 p.m. UTC

Enlarge / Microsoft's newest disfigured sweater is Clippy- and Office-themed.

Microsoft

I'm not ever a instrumentality of firm whimsy—like erstwhile brands' Twitter accounts person "attitude" oregon erstwhile companies enactment unneurotic cringe-worthy April Fools' Day pranks—but I bash bask Microsoft's now-yearly contented of releasing disfigured sweaters with retro Windows patterns printed connected them. Two years ago, the patterns were MS Paint- and Windows logo-themed. Last year's signifier paid homage to Windows 3.1-era Minesweeper. And this year's brings backmost an aged frenemy: Clippy.

Though his days arsenic a ubiquitous Microsoft Office mascot ended erstwhile Office 2007 was released, Clippy has recovered a 2nd beingness as Windows 11's mentation of the paperclip emoji. Clippy was not, unfortunately, open-sourced on with the remainder of Microsoft's emoji designs implicit the summer, owing to his presumption arsenic a copyrighted character.

Clippy is the leader of the caller sweaters, but determination are different small Office- and Windows-themed touches, too—an old-school Windows logo connected the back, the Office ruler connected the top, immoderate formatting buttons connected the sleeves, and falling stacks of insubstantial throughout.

The Clippy sweater is disposable successful sizes tiny done 3XL and costs $75 nary substance what size you get. That's a spot connected the pricey side, but dissimilar a batch of disfigured sweaters, the Clippy one does look to beryllium an existent knit sweater and not a sweatshirt with a signifier printed connected it. As portion of its promotional efforts astir the sweater, Microsoft besides says it volition donate $100,000 to the College Success Foundation.

There's nary connection connected whether we tin expect sweaters honoring the galore different Microsoft Office Assistant designs, similar the reddish dot oregon the Einstein-looking feline oregon the small robot. Rover, the yellowish canine from Microsoft Bob and the Windows XP hunt dialog, is besides MIA.