Try Google Terminal: Back to the 80s
Quick Facts
- Summary
- Use a 1980s-style BBS search terminal with simulated dial-up sounds, a command prompt, and saved example results.
- Creator
- N. Landsteiner
- Launched
- 2012
- Status
- Available on elgooG
Try the Easter Egg
How It Was Made
The Core Idea
Google Terminal is an unofficial 2012 project by N. Landsteiner of mass:werk. It imagines Google in the era of bulletin board systems (BBSs): services accessed through a modem and a text-based terminal.
Google discontinued the search service used by the original project in May 2016. This preserved version displays saved example results.
Inspiration and Development
Squirrel-Monkey.com’s video “If Google were invented in the 80s” supplied the concept. The interactive adaptation uses simulated modem sounds, gradually displayed text, and period-style screen colors to recreate that setting.
The Easter Egg Experience
What Stands Out
The page simulates a computer startup and modem connection before displaying a Google BBS screen and command prompt.
Display options include color, monochrome green, monochrome amber, scan lines, and an on-screen keyboard. Key sounds and a directory-style prompt add to the terminal presentation.
How It Works
After the simulated connection, press S to choose search, type “Apple II”, and press Enter. You can also try “BBS” or “Commodore 64”; other queries bring up a menu of these saved examples.
Use the arrow keys to page through the results. Numbered result codes show a simulated connection message without opening another website. Open Options to change the display colors, show the keyboard, or toggle scan lines.
How to Try It
- Click the button above to open Google Terminal and wait for the simulated modem connection and login.
- Press S, type “Apple II”, and press Enter to load a saved example.
- Use the arrow keys to browse the results. Press 0 to return to the home screen and try “BBS” or “Commodore 64”.
- Open Options to change the screen colors, show the keyboard, or turn scan lines on and off.
Google Terminal is not an official Google product. It was made by mass:werk, and it is kept here so you can still try the BBS version of Google in a modern browser.
If you enjoy it, try its companion page, Google Images Terminal, where pictures from image search are drawn with text characters.
Final Thoughts
Try the same saved results in Monochrome Green and Monochrome Amber, then turn on scan lines. The text stays the same, but the screen takes on a different early-computing look.
Try the Easter Egg
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Google Terminal?
Google Terminal is an unofficial project created in 2012 by N. Landsteiner of mass:werk. It imagines Google as a BBS terminal from the 1980s.
It gives the search page a dial-up start, a command prompt, old-style screen colors, scan lines, and keyboard controls.
The original live-search service was discontinued. This preserved version uses saved example results.
How do I use Google Terminal?
Wait for the simulated connection, press S, then enter “Apple II”, “BBS”, or “Commodore 64” and press Enter. Other queries open a menu of saved examples. Use the arrow keys to page through results and 0 to return to the home screen. The numbered result codes simulate a connection but do not open websites. In Options, you can change display colors, show the on-screen keyboard, or toggle scan lines.