Source: Louis Koziarz
Macintosh SE
Hit the interrupt switch (the button with the broken circle on it, on the left side of your machine closer to the back)
Get into the debugger
Set PC to 41D789A (i.e., >G 41D89A at the prompt)
Four bitmap pictures of the Macintosh development team appear as a slideshow. Reboot (hit the button closer to the front, with the triangle on it) to get out of the endless cycle.
Macintosh II models (exact types uncertain); Mac SE/30 (hardware)
Set the system clock to the American release of the machine [what are the valid values? jcm]
Reboot, holding down command-option-model name characters (e.g., on an FX you hold down cmnd-opt-f-x)
Source: Louis Koziarz
(and many, many others)
Mac SE, Mac II ci
On a Macintosh SE, hit the programmer's switch, then type G 41D89A
On a Macintosh IIci, first set the date to 09/20/89, then restart the machine and hold down Command+Opt+c+i during the reboot.
And if you're lucky enough to have an original copy of MultiFinder, the About box has a simple tremendous list of credits. But all is not lost in the newer versions. Leave the `About MultiFinder' box open for about an hour. It will turn into the message [rot13]
V jnag zl, V jnag zl, V jnag zl ybbx naq srry.
Source: Arthur Evans
System 7
Under System 7 with the Finder running, select "About Finder" on the Apple menu with the OPTION key to see a list of all developers. Be patient, it takes a while. Using OPTION-COMMAND does that and also turns the cursor into a smiley.
Macintosh Plus
From the debugger, enter "G 40E118".
This gives you a "Stolen from Apple Computer" message.
Macintosh Classic
Hold down Command-Option-x-o right after you turn on or reboot the machine.
The Classic starts up from a minimal ROM-disk which contains System 6.0.3, Finder 6.1x, and AppleShare. (This version of the System is not recommended to run the Classic under.) If you look at the ROM-disk with a program able to see invisible files (like ResEdit or MacTools), you'll find folders hidden there bearing the names of the Classic designers.
Macintosh IIfx
Set the system date to 3/19/90 (the release date of the IIfx), and restart while holding down Command-Option-f-x.
You'll see a color picture of the IIfx design team. Click the mouse to continue.
Multifinder 6.0
Contributed by Tony Cooper
Search the STR# resources with ResEdit.
One STR# resource contains three strings:
"I want my"
"I want my"
"I want my l--k and f--l"
(Anybody know how to get this message to come up without having to snoop around in ResEdit?)
System 6.0.7 or 7.0
Take a look through the data fork of the System File (with MacSnoop or MacTools, or open it with MS Word). (It's short.)
The string "Help! Help! We're being held prisoner in a system software factory!" is at the end of the data fork.
Contributed by Kevin Bolduan
System 6.0.7J (Kanjitalk)
Set the clock to January 1, 1992, and restart.
The startup screen says "Happy new year" in Japanese.
Contributed by Junio Hamano
Finder 7.0
Hold down Option while choosing "About This Macintosh".
(The menu option changes to "About the Finder".) The original picture of the mountains from System 1.0 appears. If the creation date of the
invisible "Desktop Folder" is May 13, 1991, or later, the names of all the Finder developers through Mac and Lisa history also scroll by.
Hold down Command-Option while choosing "About" to get a goofy-face cursor.
Caches 7.0.1
Option-click on the version number in the upper right-hand corner.
The "040" icon will whoosh over, revealing the name of the programmer.
Caps Lock 7.0.1 (on a PowerBook)
Turn on balloon help, press Caps Lock, and point to the up-arrow icon in the menu bar.
The balloon help reads: "This file allows your Macintosh TIM or Derringer to display an icon..." (These were the working names of the PowerBooks; Apple forgot to change the extension before System 7.0.1 was released
Color Control Panel 7.0
Option-click on the Sample Text a few times.
The strings "by Dean Yu" "& Vincent Lo" alternate.
Labels Control Panel 7.0
Delete all the label names in the Labels control panel, and reboot.
The labels are now "None," "a", "l", "a", "n", "j", "e", "f".
Map Control Panel 1.x (released with System 6) and 7.0
Contributed by Takeshi Miyazaki and Doc O'Leary
Type MID as the city name, and click Find. Also try: clicking on the version number, option-clicking on Find, opening the control panel while you hold down shift and/or option, clicking somewhere in the Map and dragging off the edge of it, or copying the map from the Scrapbook and pasting it while the Map control panel is open.
The stored point MID is actually "Middle of Nowhere", an insignificant location in the middle of the South Atlantic. (This one was added in version 7.0.)
Clicking on the "7.0" puts "v7.0, by Mark Davis" into the city name field until you release the mouse button.
Option-clicking on Find repeatedly will take you alphabetically to every city the Map knows.
Opening the control panel while you hold down the shift key will display a magnified map (the resolution is the same, so it's very jagged).
Opening it with option held down magnifies it more, and shift-option magnifies it even more to the point of being really blocky.
Dragging off the edge of the map will scroll around the world. You can paste a new picture into the control panel; the Scrapbook that comes with System 7 includes a particularly good color map.
Monitors Control Panel 7.0
Click the version number (7.0) in the control panel window. While you hold down the mouse button, tap Option several times.
When you click, a box pops up with the names of the people who wrote Monitors. Pressing Option makes the smiley face stick out its tongue.
After tapping Option several times, the names begin to get rearranged and some first and last names get replaced with "Blue" or "Meanies".
Puzzle Desk Accessory 7.0
Contributed by Povl H. Pedersen
You can copy the picture of two linked squares from the Scrapbook and paste it into the Puzzle.
In fact, you can paste any picture into the Puzzle, and it will be sized to fit. You can also copy the picture from the Puzzle and look at the clipboard to see what it will look like solved.
Finder 7.0 and MacsBug
Turn on Balloon Help and point to the MacsBug file.
The balloon reads: "This file provides programmers with information proving that it really was a hardware problem..."
FlashWrite II
Contributed by Dave Claytor
Hold down Option as you select "About FlashWrite II" under the "star" logo.
HyperCard 2.x
(Thanks to Seth Theriault for more info.)
Hold down Option as you select "About Hypercard...".
You get (in 2.1 only) a dialog describing your system setup, and (in either 2.0 or 2.1) the chooser name, if you've entered one, appears in the "HyperCard by" title. (That is, if you entered "Joe Cool" as your name in the Chooser (6.0) or Sharing Setup (7.0), the top of the window will read "HyperCard by Joe Cool".
Also, on a Quadra, you will be told your system is a "Macintosh Macintosh".
Installer 3.x
(Contributed by John DeRosa)
After dismissing the initial welcome dialog, type "ski".
A humorous list of the developers will appear, and you will be able to choose from five wait-cursors: the hand with the moving fingers (standard), a spinning globe, the familiar spinning disc, the even more familiar wristwatch, and dots that move.
Jam Session
(Contributed by Joe Campbell)
Choose "About Jam Session".
The credits are displayed on the label of a record, and you can hear it click (as an old record does after it's played to the end). When you click the mouse to dismiss the dialog, you hear the scratching noise of the needle being lifted off the record.
KiwiEnvelopes! 3.1
(Contributed by Dave Claytor)
Choose "About KiwiEnvelopes!".
A letter is deposited into a mail truck which then rolls off the screen. After it leaves, a marquee shows the names of the development team.
MacDraw Pro
(Contributed by Dave Claytor)
Hold down Option while selecting "About MacDraw Pro".
The dialog shows your system setup.
MacPaint 2.0 (only the first few copies, before Claris caught it)
Hold down Tab and Space while choosing "About MacPaint".
A bitmap of a well-known painting of a nude zebra-striped woman atop a white zebra appears.
ResEdit 2.1
Contributed by Takeshi Miyazaki
Turn on Balloon Help and point to the ResEdit file.
The balloon reads: "... Apple recommends that you use ResEdit only on expendable copies of your files."
ResEdit 2.x
Contributed by Ian Neath
Hold down Shift, Option, and Command as you choose "About ResEdit."
You get the chance to enter "pig mode" (oink oink oink).
When you put ResEdit into pig mode, resources will be compacted and purged each time ResEdit goes through its event loop (several times a second). (However, since this makes ResEdit slower, it's not of much use outside Apple.)
Simple Player (for QuickTime) 1.0
Contributed by Scott Ryder
Hold down Option as you select "About Simple Player..."
The two movie frames now have greyscaled cats in them.
SoundEdit
Choose "About SoundEdit".
A burning fuse bomb "system error" blows up.
WriteNow 2.2
Select "About WriteNow", then option-click on the About dialog.
Little men run out and change all the letters one-by-one.