200LX Easter Eggs

From: Bruce Martin

Subject: HP Easter Eggs, for FAQ

Q. What "easter eggs" are hidden in the ROM of the 200LX?

A.

1. A poem in the Self Test. With the palmtop off, press [ESC][ON] to start the Self Test, then cursor down to the Display setting. Press [ENTER] 14 times to step through the various screens until you come to a screen of example text in the form of a fanciful poem. (This is not as well-hidden as the other easter eggs that follow.)
2. Another poem in the Self Test. With the palmtop off, press [ESC][ON] to start the Self Test, then cursor down to the Display setting. Press [CTRL][ENTER]. Then hold down [ALT] while pressing [ENTER] 13 times. You will see a cryptic poem, apparently relating business issues faced by the software development team.
3. Yet another poem in the Self Test. With the palmtop off, press [ESC][ON] to start the Self Test, then cursor down to the Display setting. Press [CTRL][ENTER]. Then hold down [SHIFT] while pressing [ENTER] 13 times. You will see an allegorical poem about the history and future of the 200LX. (Hint: the prototype names for the 95LX, 100LX and 200LX are Jaguar, Cougar and Felix respectively.)
4. Pictures of the software development team in the Lair of Squid game. Start Lair of Squid. From the opening screen, before starting a game, type "gallery". You are transported to a secret corridor. On the walls, a couple of paces ahead, you will see portraits of the 200LX software development team (step all the way forward then turn to the side to see each head-on). In the last position on the wall is a sign with a message from the team. Pass through the door at the far end, and you will be transported back to the game's opening screen.
5. System Manager program data in More Applications. Press the blue [&...] key to start More Applications. Hold down [ALT] while pressing [F9] 4 times followed by [F10] once. As long as you continue to hold [ALT] you will see columns of data about .exm programs registered to SysMgr, along with other arcane information. (This is more likely a debugging tool than an easter egg, but it is handy for finding the hex keycodes of programs, and other tidbits.)

Bruce, Toronto

Rudy Moore