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Google Images Terminal Easter Egg

👇 Scroll down to play!

Quick Facts

ℹ️ Summary

Search Google Images via a BBS‑style terminal — results render as ASCII art.

👨‍💻 Creator

N. Landsteiner

🚀 Launched

2012

🟢 Status

Available on elgooG

Interact with the Easter Egg

How It Was Made

Concept Overview

Before graphical browsers took over, images on Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) were often shared as ASCII art — pictures built entirely from text characters. This constraint sparked a distinctive visual style and plenty of creative problem-solving in the early online era.

Google Images Terminal extends the Google Terminal concept to image search, recreating how visuals could be experienced in a text-only world.

Inspiration and Development

Created by N. Landsteiner of mass:werk (www.masswerk.at) as a companion to the Google BBS Terminal, this project tackles a fun challenge: make modern, high-resolution image search work within the limits of 1980s terminals. The solution — rendering results as ASCII art on the fly — shows how creativity thrives under constraints. We’re happy to help preserve and share this clever tribute to early digital art.

The Easter Egg Experience

Key Features

You’ll get the same authentic terminal feel as the Google Terminal — green phosphor glow, subtle flicker, modem handshakes, the works. The twist: every image result is displayed as surprisingly detailed ASCII art, echoing how BBS users shared visuals back in the day.

How It Works

Search images through a little time machine that turns today’s pictures into captivating text-based art.

How to Play

  1. Click the button above to connect.
  2. Enjoy the nostalgic modem sequence — sounds included.
  3. At the prompt, enter your image search.
  4. Press Enter to run the query.
  5. Watch as results are rendered live as ASCII art.
  6. Keep exploring to see more text-based visuals.

This creative extension highlights N. Landsteiner’s technical flair and sense of play. The original lives at Mass Werk. On-the-fly ASCII conversion offers a hands-on look at how people shared visuals before graphical browsers — turning limits into a distinctive form of digital expression.

Final Thoughts

Google Images Terminal blends modern search with retro display tech in a way that feels fresh and fun. Though unofficial, it captures the spirit of early computing — resourceful, curious, and a bit mischievous. Try it and see how yesterday’s text art reimagines today’s images.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Google Images Terminal?

Google Images Terminal brings image search to an authentic 1980s-style terminal — complete with monospaced type, a blinking cursor, and live ASCII rendering that turns pictures into text.

Inspired by Squirrel-Monkey.com’s playful “If Google were invented in the 1980s,” this project by N. Landsteiner faithfully channels the BBS era. It’s not an official Google product, but it’s a smart, affectionate nod to pre-browser image sharing.

Features include a virtual keyboard for easy input, monochrome display options (classic green or amber), optional CRT scan lines, and real-time ASCII rendering that transforms any image into surprisingly detailed text-based artwork.

👈 or Esc to go back.

👈 button to go back.

Google Images Terminal Interface

Credits

“Google Images Terminal – What Google Images would have looked like in the 1980s”
(c) 2012 mass:werk – media environments, N. Landsteiner, [www.masswerk.at]
A working service after a video by Squirrel-Monkey.com: “If Google were invented in the 80s”.

Google™ is a registered trademark of Google Inc., Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
The artistic layout is the intellectual property of Squirrel-Monkey.com.

Disclaimer:
Neither this page nor its author is affiliated with Google Inc. This page uses Google™ search and news services to display realistic results within an artistic layout by Squirrel-Monkey.com. The last item in any results list links directly to the corresponding Google™ search on [www.google.com].
Search requests are sent directly from your browser to google.com; they are not proxied through this site.

Usage Notice:
•  Page through results with the arrow keys.
•  Press “0” (zero) to return to the home screen and start a new search.
•  Press Esc to start a new search at any time.

Additional Features: URL Parameters & Special Queries:
q=query  ...  search term
u=username  ...  log in as a specified user
kbd=1  ...  force-show the virtual keyboard
display=color  ...  set the display to color mode (default)
display=green  ...  set the display to monochrome green
display=amber  ...  set the display to monochrome amber
crt=1 or scanlines=1  ...  show scan lines
For example, this URL runs a search for “elgoog” as “Spider-Man”:
Link: /?u=Spider-Man&q=elgoog

See also:
•  “Google Terminal – Access Google via 1980s-style command lines.” –
   [elgoog.im/terminal/]
•  Don’t miss the “prequel”: “Google60 – Search Mad Men Style” – [ www.masswerk.at/google60]
•  Gamified: “Google-Asteroids – Arcade Style Search” – [ www.masswerk.at/googleAsteroids]
•  Archived: “Bing Terminal – What Bing would have looked like in the 80s” – [www.masswerk.at/bingBBS]

FAQ

What is Google Images Terminal?

Google Images Terminal brings image search to an authentic 1980s-style terminal — complete with monospaced type, a blinking cursor, and live ASCII rendering that turns pictures into text.

Inspired by Squirrel-Monkey.com’s playful “If Google were invented in the 1980s,” this project by N. Landsteiner faithfully channels the BBS era. It’s not an official Google product, but it’s a smart, affectionate nod to pre-browser image sharing.

Features include a virtual keyboard for easy input, monochrome display options (classic green or amber), optional CRT scan lines, and real-time ASCII rendering that transforms any image into surprisingly detailed text-based artwork.

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