D2CA.ORG - Dan's 20th Century Abandonware - Microsoft® Bob™ Exhibit

Once inside the "Bob Home," if you want to make any changes to the way Microsoft Bob looks, acts, or runs, you have to navigate your "Personal Guide's" balloon options lists.

Featured below are 14 screen shots of the program options available in Microsoft Bob.

Accessing Microsoft Bob's Option List
After signing in to the "Bob Home," your "Personal Guide" greets you and presents you with a "balloon tip." The single bullet item is titled "Other options." This is your entrance to Microsoft Bob's options list.

Main Option List
After clicking the "Other options" balloon item, you are presented with a list of options that allow you to find programs, go to other "rooms," add items, change items, delete items, take the "Bob Home Tour," access more advanced options, read some ramblings your "Personal Guide" has to offer, see the copyright credits for Microsoft Bob, etc.

"Find a program"
When you click the "Find a Program" option on the main option list you are presented with the prompt shown in the screen shot above. A list of "Bob Programs" is presented to allow you to track down one or more Microsoft Bob programs.

There are also two bullet list options to have Bob search your hard drive for programs or let you manually browse your drive(s), as shown in this screen shot, which opens, in this screen shot's case, the Windows 3.1x open dialog box.

"Add something"
When you click the "Add something" option on the main option list, a prompt like the one in the screen shot above is shown. You then can add extra "rooms" to the "Bob Home," add a new door to a room, add a program, either a Microsoft Bob program or a program outside of Bob, a decoration such as a chair or other item, or "something new from disk," which allows you to install new programs.

"Change something"
When you click the "Change something" option on the main option list, a prompt like the one in the screen shot above is shown. From this prompt, you can change the "room," the room's view, a room's door, an object in the room (resize, etc.), select a different "Personal Guide," and change your sign in password and "preferred name."

"Delete something"
When you click the "Delete something" option on the main option list, a prompt like the one in the screen shot above is shown. You can delete an object (chair, decoration, etc.), a door, or even the entire room. When you go to "delete something," your "Personal Guide" will ask if you are sure you want to do that.

If all you're wanting to do is delete an object, you can right-click on it and select the delete option from the prompt that pops up.

"Advanced Features"
Please click on the links below to view screen shots of Microsoft Bob's "advanced features."

Change volume

Backup options

KB/mouse shortcuts

System information

It seems surprising that adjusting the audio volume is considered to be an "advanced" feature in Microsoft Bob. If a person is able to adjust the volume on their home stereo without having to consult the operation manual, they should be able to handle a "slider" control in Microsoft Bob, don't you think?

Microsoft Bob has a built-in file backup system. You can set it to run every 1, 2, 3 weeks, monthly, or click a button in the Backup options window and run it immediately. There is also a vague message that says, "Note: If you leave Bob running overnight, backup will run automatically in the early morning."

That's very nice. Thanks, Bob. And that would be...when?

Another message says, "Note: Refer to the Bob Magazine for instructions on how to restore a backup."

Didn't Rover say in the Bob Tour that there isn't a manual for Microsoft Bob? In fact, on the contents page of the Bob Magazine, it states "This is your manual for Bob." I'm confused...

Microsoft Bob also has many built-in keystroke shortcut, and uses some Windows default shortcuts such as Alt-Tab to switch between open programs.

And, interestingly, Microsoft Bob's "balloon prompts" act the same way active windows do in Microsoft Windows. If a balloon prompt is displayed, and you press Alt-PrtScr, all you get is the area around the prompt!

Clicking the "See system information" advanced option opens Microsoft Windows System Information utility.

"Rover's Ramblings"
Regardless of which "Friend of Bob" you choose to assist you, each has their own collection of "ramblings." Each time you select the "rambling" option, a different one will be displayed. If you would like to see more of "Rover's ramblings," there are several displayed on the screen shots of extra "rooms" on the Bob Home page.

"About the Home"
This "option" is the equivalent of the "Help/About" option in "regular" Windows programs. It displays the program title, copyright information, and Microsoft's standard copyright warning message.

It also has bullet items to display Microsoft Bob's keyboard shortcuts and start up tips, with a checkbox to show startup tips when "Home Shell" is started.

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