Filed under: Software, Odds and ends
Applications get in on the spooky fun
We've shown you a Sad Mac O'lantern, regular Mac O'Lanterns, Halloween iTunes picks, and how to make a costume for your iPod, all in preparation for tomorrow's big holiday. Well, it looks like Textmate wants to get in on the Halloween fun. Today a small update was released, and the icon was updated to a spookier version.Quicksilver is also sporting some Halloween influenced touches. This is why I enjoy using software from Mac developers, they have a sense of humor. I don't imagine Microsoft will be updating Office with holiday themed icons any time soon.

![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)


Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nate said 9:09PM on 10-30-2006
Cool.
What are the QS touches? I can't seem to find any, and I've got the latest version B51 (3800)....
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James Whited said 9:22PM on 10-30-2006
Yes, I just downloaded QS now (I have never used it before) but I don't see anything to particularly Halloween-y. However, thanks for reminding me to download it. And when do we get the fancy password system that they have over at Engadget here?
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Scott McNulty said 9:22PM on 10-30-2006
A few days ago the QS startup animation was Halloweenie. :)
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Scott McNulty said 9:23PM on 10-30-2006
James, we are working on getting that feature implemented across all the blogs in the WIN network (and when I say 'we' I mean out IT folks).
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James Whited said 10:29PM on 10-30-2006
Ok sounds good, every time I post on here I get a little reminder to use my password, but obviously I can't, yet. Thanks for that update, and I will keep my eyes peeled for the QS Halloween-y effects now that I know what to look for.
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CapitalT said 2:41AM on 10-31-2006
I don't want to be an apologist for microsoft, I even hate it. But the thing they got right is "don't shove your culture up peoples throats!".
We here don't celebrate neither Halloween nor Xmas, why should we care?
If you're selling products internationally, think internationally. And if you must celebrate you should ask the user questions like "What's your religion?" or "Are you a native American?" which (you guessed) will be replied to with "WTF?!!!!".
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Bert Goethals said 4:25AM on 10-31-2006
@ CapitalT
I find that your use of the phrase "don't shove your culture up peoples throats!" a bit over the top. And it is pulled way out of context.
First off, Microsoft is a big international company while QS and TM are maintained by a small group or even just one individual. These people don't force their religion or culture upon you, they just express it through their work.
And while we are at it: every OS today is culturally inspired. For starters every (notable) OS is based on the English language. For instance certain languages read bottom top, or vertically. From that perspective it would make more sense to place the menu's on the bottom or on the side of windows. Second: Calendars. Our Bios-es and Windows (correct me if I'm wrong) are only Gregorian based, while we (OSX users) know there are more. And their are probably a lot more and a lot worse then a cut-open pumpkin as an icon.
All and all I hope a Non-western programmer will introduce Cultural based Easter-eggs (hmm..Easter?) in their applications!
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Bert Goethals said 4:32AM on 10-31-2006
Allso noticed, if TexMate has no documents to display (close all tabs in a project or folder view) we get a nice spider's web.
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Nate said 9:41AM on 10-31-2006
Hmm. Still not seeing the QS Easter egg. Tried quitting and restarting, but nada. Oh, well.
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Dennis said 1:30PM on 10-31-2006
I guess some people like all the holiday decoration stuff in their software, and that's fine, but I could do without it. I appreciate a sense of humor as much as anyone, but I'd prefer to keep my system a bit more plain. Call me boring, or uptight, but I think that kind of thing is somewhat unprofessional and must admit that I think slightly less of developers who do this sort of thing.
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Bill said 4:26PM on 10-31-2006
Ok, your boring and uptight. And also a perfect example of people that take things far too seriously. Along with CapitalT. Pathetic.
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