After Dark (1989) 66 Novelty Windows

After Dark, from Berkeley Systems, Inc, is a set of entertaining screen savers for Mac and Windows. After Dark for Windows started off as "Magic Screen Saver" for Windows 2.x. After Dark was most famous for its "Flying Toasters" screen saver. Afterdark was very popular on both the early Macintosh computers and Windows 3.0, as neither included any kind of screen saver or screen blanker that would help prevent screen burn-in.

• Magic ScreenSaver
• 1.0 for Windows
• 2.x
• 3.x
• 4.x
• Tenth Anniversary

Microsoft Plus! (1995) 56 Utility Novelty Windows

Microsoft Plus! was an add-on package to Windows that added desktop themes, screen savers, sound effects, power-toys, and other assorted goodies for the home user. Plus! 95 also included Internet Explorer 1.0, which was not included in all Windows 95 distributions.

• 95
• 98

Microsoft BOB (1995) 25 Novelty Windows

Microsoft BOB is a Windows 3.1 graphical shell intended for novice users. It presents your desktop as a series of "rooms" with various selectable objects, and assists you with a friendly animated guide. It features vector based graphics that scale to any size or resolution screen, supports user profiles, and includes rudimentary editor, calendar, address book, and checking programs. It was created as a response to Packard Bell Navigator and is somewhat comparable to Apple At Ease and 3DNA.

• 1.00
• 1.00a

Instant Artist / Print Artist (1992) 17 Graphics Publishing Novelty Windows

Instant Artist, later renamed to Print Artist, is a greeting card and sign creation program that uses vectorized graphics. It was created by The Pixellite Group, the original authors of The Print Shop, and published in 1992 by Autodesk. It was later sold by Sierra On-line. It features a high quality set of generic reusable clip art. The clip art uses vector based technology that was also used in BannerMania.

• 1.0
• 2.0
• 3.0
• 4.0
• 6.0
• 8.0

Calendar Creator Plus (1990) 10 Novelty PIM Windows

Calendar Creator Plus from Vermont Creative Software/Power Up, and later Spinnaker Software, is a tool for creating printed calendars with different styles and custom lists of events.

• 2.0 (Win)
• 4.0 (Win)
• 5.0 (Win)
• 7.0 (Win)

Microsoft Fine Artist (1994) 8 Graphics Novelty Windows MacOS

Microsoft Fine Artist is a dumbed down Microsoft Bob-like drawing program targeted at children. It was sold alongside, and later bundled with, a word processor called Microsoft Creative Writer.

• 1.x

Microsoft Scenes (1993) 7 Novelty Windows

Microsoft Scenes is a screen saver that displays a slide show of photographs. It was packaged in several varieties with different themed galleries.

• 1.0
• 2.0

3DNA (2002) 7 Utility Novelty Windows

3DNA is a 3D virtual environment shell that presents your computer as a series of 3D video-game like rooms. It features objects that you can set to launch applications, web site previews in the form of a "browser bay", and in-program advertising. It was bundled with some video cards. In many ways it is like a 3d-version of Microsoft Bob, and has a resemblance to Packard Bell Navigator.

• 1.0
• 1.1

Xmas for Windows (1994) 6 Novelty Windows

What better way to celebrate the winter solstice than to give someone the gift of an ugly Windows 3.1 color scheme, annoying backgrounds, and looping MIDI music that will make you want to rip your ears off of your head? Xmas for Windows, from Sygenex, gives you all of that as well as themed system icons, a screen saver, and several themed games. it does contain the usual religious based Xmas musics and some graphics.

• 3.0
• 8.0

Microsoft Dangerous Creatures (1994) 5 Reference Novelty Windows

Multimedia title from the Microsoft Home series about venomous and dangerous animals, such as spiders, snakes, fish, etc. from around the world. Runs on Windows 3.1 or later.

• 1.0

Microsoft Creative Writer (1994) 4 Word Processor Novelty Windows MacOS

Microsoft Creative Writer is a dumbed down Microsoft BOB-like word processor and sign maker targeted at children. It was sold alongside, and later bundled with, a drawing program called Microsoft Fine Artist

• 1.x
• 2.x

ViaVoice (1997) 4 Utility Novelty Windows

ViaVoice is a voice recognition program from IBM. It was available in a number of different languages. It was based on the previous VoiceType product Helloooo computer!

• 4.x
• 98

Wired for Sound (1992) 4 Novelty Windows

Wired For Sound, from Aristosoft, is a tool that assigns silly sounds to various Windows events. It also includes a set of backgrounds, alternate icons, and alternate cursors, and a talking clock. There were different editions of WFS Pro with different sound sets.

• 2.x
• 3.x

Catz (1996) 4 Novelty Windows

Catz, from PF Magic, Inc, is a fun program that places an animated cat on your desktop for you to play with.

• 1.0
• II

Microsoft Windows a Vision for the Future (1997) 3 Novelty Document Windows

This is a promotional collection of documents in HTML format released in 1997 describing Microsoft's upcoming plans for future versions of Windows.

• 1997

Microsoft Musical Instruments (1994) 3 Reference Novelty Windows

Microsoft Musical Instruments is a multimedia CD ROM encyclopedia of musical instruments from around the world. Part of the Microsoft Home family of multimedia products.

• 1.x

Dilbert Break A Day (1997) 2 Novelty Windows MacOS

Released in 1997 by DayBreak Software, Break A Day is a calendar that shows a different Dilbert comic every day. Includes a 16-bit Windows 3.1 version, 32-bit Windows 9x/NT version, and a Mac version.

• 1

Johnny Castaway Screen Saver (1992) 2 Novelty Windows

Johnny Castaway Screen Saver from Sierra.

• 1.x

Microsoft Greetings (1997) 2 Publishing Novelty Windows

Microsoft Greetings is a greeting card maker for Microsoft Windows 9x/NT. It was made in conjunction with Hallmark.

• Workshop 2.0
• 99 (3.0)

Multimedia Cats (1995) 2 Reference Novelty Windows

A multimedia database, from Inroads Interactive, about all kinds of cats from all around the world. In the event of an Internet apocalypse, all you will need is this CD and a CD of cartoon farting clips.

• 1.0

Icon Hear-It (1992) 1 Novelty Windows

Icon Hear-It, released in 1992 from Moon Valley Software, is a shell enhancement for Windows 3.0 and 3.1 that adds sound effects to all kinds of desktop and Program Manager actions. It features the ability to change the Program Manager program group icons, animated cursors and icons, and includes a talking calculator, clock, and solitaire game. It includes a PC speaker driver for those without a sound card.

• 1.0

Intel Demos (1991) 1 Novelty Windows

Produced in 1991 for Intel by Eric Juvet Software and Services. Contains several "Demo" applications for Windows 3.x. iPaper, iSaver, and iClock.

• 1.0

ABC 3D Atlas (1997) 1 Reference Novelty Windows

A 3D world atlas.

• 98

Flying Fingers (1993) 1 Novelty Education Windows

A nicish typing tutor that works as memory resident and annoys the hell out of you by sticking up a little man who knocks on your screen every now and again to remind you to type faster, or as a standalone app. similar to Mavis Beacon...

• 1.0

Microsoft Complete Baseball (1993) 1 Reference Novelty Windows

Multimedia software from the Microsoft Home series providing reference material of the early beginnings through to the 1990s of American baseball. Runs on Windows 3.1 or later.

• 1994