21 Notes and Inside Jokes Hidden in Mac and Windows Software

By Dylan Love Aug 9 2011, 3:44 PM ET

Editor's Note: Secret notes and messages have been hidden in computer code since developers started writing it. Back in January, we assembled a list of nine Apple Easter eggs that we found in the icons used for various programs and products. Here, Business Insider has taken that to the next level, spotlighting more than 20 eggs tucked away in Mac and Windows software, from a game of Tetris to an ASCII version of Star Wars.

An "Easter egg" is a hidden message or in-joke that software developers will sneak into whatever project they're working on.

There are plenty in OSX and Windows. We even found a few in Firefox, including a message from a gang of robots and an alternative 'About' page that predicts nothing less that global domination.

We've gathered them here for you so you can see the secrets hidden in the software you already have.

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New Windows Phone 7 app: ‘Steve Ballmer Jokes’

 The app's icon.

Microsoft wants people to make as many Windows Phone 7 apps as possible. “We don’t have any restrictions on how many fart apps,” Todd Brix, senior director of the Windows Phone marketplace, said in September. “We’ll let the consumers determine that. May the best fart app win.”

Indeed, just like the other popular mobile platforms, Windows Phone 7 has plenty of fart apps and other goofy time-wasters in its catalog of more than 11,000. But on Saturday, a new classic popped up in the Windows Phone marketplace: “Steve Ballmer Jokes.”

It’s exactly what it seems: a free app that cycles through gem after gem of funny jokes about Microsoft’s chief executive.

Of course, if you’re feeling spendy, you could always drop 99 cents on an app called “Developers Developers Developers,” which plays audio from Ballmer’s famous sweaty sermon.

Screenshots via MarketplaceBrowser.com

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