Do you like Easter eggs? Well, forget foil-wrapped chocolates and plastic shells full of jelly beans. For a springtime treat that won't give you cavities, blemishes, or an unsightly waistline, get thee to a computer.

For decades, developers have hidden little extras in their software for the intrepid and the informed to find. These delightful eggs are harder to track down than those on the White House lawn, but they're worth the hunt. From jokes to hidden cast lists and games to secret pictures and videos, almost all types of computer technology have them. If you know where to look, you'll find these so-called eggs hard-wired at the chip level, tucked away in operating systems, coded into Web sites, and even hidden in DVD movies.

Sadly, however, many tech companies now shy away from the entertaining eggs of years gone by, blaming humorless but powerful customers who demand that their products come free of "undocumented features." Today, both Microsoft's Windows XP line and Apple's Macintosh OS X are conspicuously egg-free.

Still salivating for secret treats? Happily, the Net hides several quick fixes. We've weeded out the dull cast lists and ho-hum tricks to reveal a superior selection of goodies for the season. So, pig out!

Sly site eggs
Check out hidden treats at some likely and unlikely sites.

Web search eggs
Don't have a fun Easter egg to show your friends? Just search for one.

Net app eggs
Browsers and the occasional instant-messenger client slip in a few eggs on the side.

Bonus: Egg wars!
Think programmers made up Easter eggs just for your amusement? Think again.

Show me some delightful Web site Easter eggs!