April Fools! - A Technical Sense of Humor
In case you missed it, here is a quick run down of a few April Fools jokes and ideas made by our favorite (and least favorite) companies.
Shibasphere
A comedic take on hands-free video games consoles such as the Xbox 360 Kinect. With the motto "No hands. No Wires. No limits" I thought this was a legitimate device until I watched the associated video.
Google Nose
Google actually had a few pranks that they pulled on us today. One that really stood out was Google Nose. This probably actually had some people going, but common sense says that you can't just go smelling things through your monitor (not yet anyway). When you click on the beta link, it redirects you to a search such as used napkin and instructs you to lean in as close as you can and press enter to smell the aroma. There are also several other "scents" such a maple syrup, cookie dough, casino, and even frying onion. Try typing any of those things into google to smell the aroma.
Google Maps Treasure Mode
Google also played another prank - releasing a #treasuremap mode of google maps. If you follow Google Maps on Google+, you saw the post last night about the "treasure map" upload. You can view the treasure map and play along. You cant find "hints" and the story line on their Google+ profile under posts.
Gmail Blue
This one is obviously a shot at Microsoft and its not so successful Windows 8, along with the minor improvements expected to be gained from the "mysterious" Windows Blue.
Play-Doh 3D Printer
ThinkGeek presented a 3D printer for sale. Priced at $49.99 USD, it can connect to your ipad for 3D design transfer. Powered by a crank and two C-sized batteries, you can mix up to three colors to print any 3D object from the iPlay-Doh 3D App.
Sony's Cat Cans
The UK division of Sony discussed #techforpets to celebrate April fools. Look out for the release of "Cat Cans" for pets, as well as other portable audio accessories for your pet.
Type 'google' into Bing
Of course, Microsoft had to take a sting at Google. Although their prank is less impressive, go to Bing, type 'google' into the search bar and press enter. Hover over the little boxes on the screen. The prank is not really creative, or funny really, but it is a prank nonetheless.
Twttr
Last night twitter announced on its blog that it would begin charging users $5 a month to continue using vowels on the site and call it "Premium Twitter". Free twitter would still stick around, but would be restricted to the use of consonants, and would be referred to as Twttr. Search for hash tags #nvwls for "non-paying users" and #icanhasvowels for "premium users". Or click hereto view the site they developed to make it easier to eliminate vowels from tweets.
Shibasphere
A comedic take on hands-free video games consoles such as the Xbox 360 Kinect. With the motto "No hands. No Wires. No limits" I thought this was a legitimate device until I watched the associated video.
Google Nose
Google actually had a few pranks that they pulled on us today. One that really stood out was Google Nose. This probably actually had some people going, but common sense says that you can't just go smelling things through your monitor (not yet anyway). When you click on the beta link, it redirects you to a search such as used napkin and instructs you to lean in as close as you can and press enter to smell the aroma. There are also several other "scents" such a maple syrup, cookie dough, casino, and even frying onion. Try typing any of those things into google to smell the aroma.
Google Maps Treasure Mode
Google also played another prank - releasing a #treasuremap mode of google maps. If you follow Google Maps on Google+, you saw the post last night about the "treasure map" upload. You can view the treasure map and play along. You cant find "hints" and the story line on their Google+ profile under posts.
Gmail Blue
This one is obviously a shot at Microsoft and its not so successful Windows 8, along with the minor improvements expected to be gained from the "mysterious" Windows Blue.
Play-Doh 3D Printer
ThinkGeek presented a 3D printer for sale. Priced at $49.99 USD, it can connect to your ipad for 3D design transfer. Powered by a crank and two C-sized batteries, you can mix up to three colors to print any 3D object from the iPlay-Doh 3D App.
Sony's Cat Cans
The UK division of Sony discussed #techforpets to celebrate April fools. Look out for the release of "Cat Cans" for pets, as well as other portable audio accessories for your pet.
Type 'google' into Bing
Of course, Microsoft had to take a sting at Google. Although their prank is less impressive, go to Bing, type 'google' into the search bar and press enter. Hover over the little boxes on the screen. The prank is not really creative, or funny really, but it is a prank nonetheless.
Twttr
Last night twitter announced on its blog that it would begin charging users $5 a month to continue using vowels on the site and call it "Premium Twitter". Free twitter would still stick around, but would be restricted to the use of consonants, and would be referred to as Twttr. Search for hash tags #nvwls for "non-paying users" and #icanhasvowels for "premium users". Or click hereto view the site they developed to make it easier to eliminate vowels from tweets.
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