EASTER EGGS ON THE WEB The Fun & Secretive World of Digital Easter Eggs
This time of year, when you hear the words “Easter egg” you probably think of either dyed chicken eggs, Cadbury Creme Eggs, or those hard plastic eggs with goodies on the inside. In recent years, however, the phrase “Easter egg” has taken on an additional meaning. We now use the term to describe hidden messages left in media or technology for eagle-eyed viewers and users. These Easter eggs may not be as brightly colored or packed with sugar as their namesakes, but they can be just as delightful. The use of “Easter egg” to describe these hidden messages originates with the Atari 2600 game “Adventure,” which was released in 1979. Programmer Warren Robinett hid a message within the game. It would only appear if a player stepped on a certain pixel during the right moment. When they did, the words “Created by Warren Robinett” would appear. After a player discovered the message and wrote to Atari about it, company executives weren’t upset with their devious employee. Instead, they suggested implementing the strategy in more of their titles.
From their origin in video games, Easter eggs have spread to other media. For example, they’re a regular fixture of Marvel movies, so much so that dedicated fans meticulously comb over shots for carefully placed clues about future movies. In the “Toy Story” movies, there are many references to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Don’t believe us? The next time you watch the Pixar classic, check out the carpet in Sid’s family home. When it comes to online Easter eggs, Google is the undisputed champion. You can search for “Google in 1998” to take a look at the search engine two decades into the past. It’s shocking how much the simple design has morphed over the years. You’ll find another great Easter egg if you Google Image search for “Atari Breakout.” The photos will transform into a completely playable version of the game. A fitting tribute, considering it was Atari that made Easter eggs a thing in the first place. NEED NETWORKING OR COMPUTER HELP?
SPOTLIGHT ON LIZ NYLIN
Liz Nylin joined AZCOMP as our marketing manager in January. Prior to accepting her new role, Liz worked for us a couple of years ago, so she’s already an old friend. What drew her back? “The two main factors are the incredible people and the integrity of the company,” she says. “Everyone here genuinely cares about the customers and one another. That’s rare to find.”
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As marketing manager, Liz spends her time creating a lot of our killer content. She’s excited to get to know our customers better over the coming months and years. When she’s not working, Liz spends her time with her husband, Josh, her two children, Lydia and Jack, and the family’s three rescue dogs. Ironically, Josh and Liz moved to Arizona from Massachusetts in order to open an ice carving business. That’s right — they moved to the desert to work with ice. Regardless of how funny that sounds, we’re sure glad they did. Otherwise, we’d never get to work with Liz!
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