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Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

By greg shultz

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Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Aquatic Realm

Aquatic Realm

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ntIn Aquatic Realm, your screen becomes an underwater porthole as fish and other sea creatures swim back and forth across the seabed.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Can of Worms

Can of Worms

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ntIn Can of Worms, worms squirm and twist all over the screen while munching away at the desktop.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Clocks

Clocks

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ntIn Clocks, different types of clocks float across the screen displaying the time. This composite image shows all three of the main clocks.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Fade Away

Fade Away

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ntIn Fade Away, your desktop just fades away.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Flying Toasters

Flying Toasters

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ntIn Flying Toasters, the screen goes black and then the now infamous flying toasters glide across the screen interspersed with pieces of toast. You even get to choose how you like your toast.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

GeoBounce

GeoBounce

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ntIn GeoBounce, a geometric shape of your choice spins and bounces across the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

GraphStat

GraphStat

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ntIn GraphStat, random scientific looking graphs appear on the screen. 

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Hard Rain

Hard Rain

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ntIn Hard Rain, rain drops hit the screen and create colorful circular splats all over the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

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goldfinger.jpg
Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Lasers

Image: MGM

Lasers

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ntIn Lasers, you get a front row seat as a laser light show creates bright patterns on the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Image: MGM
Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Magic

Magic

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ntIn Magic, constantly shifting patterns appear on the screen and dazzle you with their intricacy.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Mondrian

Mondrian

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ntIn Mondrian, the screen turns into a piece of Mondrian style art.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Mountains

Mountains

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ntIn Mountains, 3-D mountains from a planet of your choosing appear on the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Nocturnes

Nocturnes

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ntIn Nocturnes, the screen goes black and then the eyes of various nocturnal creatures appear on the screen and watch you.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Punch Out

Punch Out

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ntIn Punch Out, the desktop is attacked by a hole puncher—the annoying clicking sound is optional.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Rain Storm

Rain Storm

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ntIn Rain Storm, a storm appears on the screen complete with wind and lightning.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Satori

Satori

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ntIn Satori, colorful tie-dye-like patterns slowly emerge and swirl on the desktop.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Shapes

Shapes

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ntIn Shapes, solid color geometric shapes simply fill the screen. Kind of boring now, but hey this was from 1991.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Slide show

Slide show

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ntIn Slide Show, you see a simple slide show of images of your choice. Here, you see some dinosaurs… get it?

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Spheres

Spheres

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ntIn Spheres, a host of colorful spheres are rendered on the screen creating the illusion of dimensionality. Back then, this one was one of my favorites.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Spiral Gyro

Spiral Gyro

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ntIn Spiral Gyro, interesting patterns are drawn on the screen just like those created with the old Spyrograph toy.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Stained Glass

Image: Greg Shultz

Stained Glass

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ntIn Stained Glass, random patterns appear on the screen. They actually look more like quilts or a kaleidoscope than stained glass, but very neat, nonetheless.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Image: Greg Shultz
Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Starry Night

Starry Night

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ntIn Starry Night, a city skyline appears under a star filled sky with occasional flashes of lightning. The lights in the buildings go on and off and red beacon lights flash at the tops of some of the tallest buildings.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

String Theory

String Theory

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ntIn String Theory, complex Moireu00ad-like patterns swirl across the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Vertigo

Vertigo

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ntIn Vertigo, colorful spirals and squares gradually grow on the screen and provide the dizzying optical illusion of depth as they move.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Warp

Warp

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ntIn Warp, you see a Star Trek effect, where colorful stars suddenly swirl past as the warp drive engages.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Wrap Around

Wrap Around

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ntIn Wrap Around, you see another set of Moire patterns swirl across the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Flying Toasters – A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

Zot

Zot

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ntIn Zot, bolts of lightning appear on the screen.

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ntImage created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

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By greg shultz
My first computer was a Kaypro 16 \"luggable\" running MS-DOS 2.11 which I obtained while studying computer science in 1986. After two years, I discovered that I had a knack for writing documentation and shifted my focus over to technical writing.