The Talking Moose XP

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on October 19, 2012

The Talking Moose is a desktop utility that features a funny animated cartoon-like moose that will pop up when least expected and deliver a funny line, a witty quote, or insult the user. There are versions of The Talking Moose for the Mac and mobile devices as well as Windows, and the moose even has his own Facebook page and Twitter accounts.

The Talking Moose has been around in electronic form since 1986 and was one of the first animated figures on computers. Once installed the user will see the interface with links to the official Talking Moose Website and links to the website of the creator. Once the application is started, The Talking Moose can pop-up at any time with any one of over 1600 different insults or jokes that will play over the speakers of the PC, laptop, or Mac. You can modify the moose's comments and limit how frequently it pops up, but you can't control exactly when the character pops up. The Talking Moose senses when the user does certain tasks like opening the Control Panel and will make an audible note of it. The audio quality of The Talking Moose is better on Mac machines than Windows, but there are plenty of websites where the user can download more pleasing voices.

The Talking Moose downloads and boots up quickly on most machines though some users may experience problems getting the utility to launch if their ActiveX Objects are not up to date. If you like the unexpected or just need something to break up the daily dullness, The Talking Moose is a fun app that requires you to do nothing more than install and enjoy.