Two Pranks to Play on Mac Computer Users: April Fool's Fun for the Office

Two Pranks to Play on Mac Computer Users: April Fool's Fun for the Office
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Many computer-based office pranks are available for Windows PC users – but not so many for Mac users. However, there are still a few tricks you can play on an Apple-loving co-worker or friend. These two pranks include the (prank) destruction of a computer monitor and a couple of ways to get your victim fooled with mouse-related tricks.

Each of these is perfect for April Fool’s Day, so spend a bit of time preparing them, get them setup, and let the laughs begin!

Monitor Destruction

This simple ruse can cause absolute looks of shock and anger on your intended victim, so make sure you choose the right target!

First, go to Flickr and find an image of a broken computer screen. This one is of a smashed LCD display with a big splash of black liquid crystal in one corner, perfect for tricking your victim into thinking that something terrible has occurred.

Save either image to your colleague’s Mac, close any open programs (probably best to save any work that needs saving) and go to Apple > System Preferences… Personal > Desktop and Screensaver and find the image that you saved to the computer and set it as the desktop background.

Finally, go to Apple > Dock > Turn Hiding On in order to hide the dock and any clue that the image is anything other than an image, then return to your own desk and await the consequences. You might even embellish the whole setup by laying the monitor face down on your victim’s desk or arranging some other supposed destruction!

Note that this trick is intended for Macs with LCD displays.

(Image via office.microsoft.com)

Messing with the Mouse

Another great prank to play in the office is to disrupt your victim’s wireless mouse.

There are several variations on this joke, and you will need to be nearby so that you can see how they move their mouse. Disconnect their wireless mouse receiver, and either plug in your own mouse, and wait for the victim to return to his or her desk. As they start moving “their” mouse around, you should also start moving the mouse on your desk – but make it do something completely different to what your victim was doing! Alternatively you could watch them move the mouse, then move yours slowly but in the same manner.

If a wireless mouse isn’t available, however, you might instead cover the laser on your victim’s optical mouse with translucent tape; this will confuse them even more for a short time, as when they tip the mouse over to check the laser they will suspect less than if you used a small Post-It note.