BonziBUDDY

This article is part of the series, "Windows Memes" BonziBuddy, stylized as BonziBUDDY, is a desktop assistant program distributed by Bonzi Software between 1999 and 2004. The software provides an on-screen software agent designed to help users surf the Internet by using Microsoft Agent technology. In 1999, the software used a green parrot called "Peedy" licensed from Microsoft, and in later versions, a purple gorilla named Bonzi. Upon a user's choice the on-screen agent would share jokes and facts, manage downloading using its download manager, sing songs and other functions.

The software uses Microsoft Agent technology similar to Office Assistant,[1] and originally sports Peedy, a green parrot and one of the characters available with Microsoft Agent. Later versions of BonziBuddy feature its own character: Bonzi, the purple gorilla.[2] The program also used a text to speech voice to interact with the user. The voice was called Sydney and taken from an old Lernout & Hauspie Microsoft Speech API 4.0 package. It is often referred to in some software as Adult Male #2.

Some versions of the software were described as spyware. Bonzi's homepage remained open after the discontinuation of BonziBuddy and the website disappeared at the end of 2008.