This is the part III of a new series of articles here at Inspect My Gadget. While most how-to articles you will find on this site will help you to be more productive, it’s sometimes fun to plant a practical joke on your work mates computer.

This week we look at crazy mouse. Normally when you move a mouse around the screen, it will go where you want it to. That is until you try this practical joke.

The result:

• The desktop will appear untouched.
• You will be able to move your victims mouse cursor without them knowing, which will create confusion and frustration.
• The more subtle you are, the longer you can play out the joke.

This joke takes little explanation but it is extremely effective. I used this practical joke on my boss and it went down well. Read on to find out how to make this happen, and how to restore the system quickly before you get decked.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is the part II of a new series of articles here at Inspect My Gadget. While most how-to articles you will find on this site will help you to be more productive, it’s sometimes fun to plant a practical joke on your work mates computer.

None of these articles will damage your computer or expose you to viruses, and they will all be easy to revert the computer back to it’s previous state, at least, after a few laughs.

This week we look at “the start virus”. Basically, what we do is change every internal windows sound to the startup sound or some other annoying sound. This will work well in an IT workshop environment because the more tech savvy the user, the less likely they are to look for the obvious solution. This is very distracting and in your face.

I have seen this one used on a very good computer technician. He was really stressed by this and it took him over an hour to figure out even though it is so blatantly obvious. You may want to let on to the victim know how to fix this before they reinstall windows.

The result:

• The desktop will appear untouched.
• Every action, such as minimizing and maximizing windows, will cause the windows startup sound.
• It will take around 20 seconds to return the computer back to it’s fully working state.
• You can use any sound. The longer the better. An awful laugh or crazy frog may be just as ridiculously annoying.
• Take caution if you are going to be in the same room as the trick may backfire on you.

Read on to find out how to make this happen, and how to restore the system quickly before you get decked.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is the start of a new series of articles here at Inspect My Gadget. While most how-to articles you will find on this site will help you to be more productive, it’s sometimes fun to plant a practical joke on your work mates computer. You’ll have them pulling their hair out and screaming at their computer while you work quietly nearby. 

None of these articles will damage your computer or expose you to viruses, and they will all be easy to revert the computer back to it’s previous state, at least, after a few laughs.

I will start with an old favourite. This is sure to trick many as the effect is almost flawless. The only noticeable clue is that the clock in the tasktray will not change.

The result:

• The desktop will appear untouched.
• The start Menu will not work.
• None of the default icons on the desktop will work.
• It will take around 30 seconds to return the computer back to it’s fully working state.

Read on to find out how to make this happen, and how to restore the system quickly before you get decked.

Read the rest of this entry »