Google Treasure Maps, Toaster.io and more
It's that time of year again when work colleagues dust off their fake dog poos and buttonhole flowers that squirt water, it's April Fools' Day, and that means there's an awful lot of tomfoolery going on out there in World Wide Web land.
And the tech industry is not above having a giggle at its own expense too. In the past, we've had some classic April Fools' jokes played by all manner of gadget companies, big and small. Some, like the iCade iPad arcade cabinet, have even gone on to become real products. Pocket-lint even touted an "iPhone" with our own 2004 gag about an add-on for the existing iPod, years before Apple's first smartphone.
So what better than to sweep up all the internet-posted April Fools' Day products and postings we could find into one mirth-filled place. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have. How many of them fooled you or you family or friends?
Bathstore's world's first vertical bath
Bathstore, the UK retailer that sells, well, baths - and other bathroom furniture, plumbing and accessories of course, but that would be way too long for a URL - has had its April Fools' joke up on its site for a few days. It is the world's first vertical bath.
"We all like a good soak, but with modern living spaces getting smaller and smaller we wanted to find a way to still ensure you could fit a bath in even the tiniest bathroom," said chief Bathstore developer Dr Nisan Aptal.?"Once we had the basic design down we tested a series of prototypes and eventually struck on the idea of including air-holes at head-height. We still don't recommend adding bubbles; it can get very foamy in there."
The store even proposed that the Vertical Bath would go on sale at the end of April. It won't. But it's not totally useless as an idea. Apart from having to wait naked in the smallest of spaces while water slowly rises around you, it's quite a... Oh, who are we kidding?
Force-field protection for smartphones
Mobile phone insurance company?MobileInsurance.co.uk?claimed to have come up with the ideal way to protect your smartphone, a technology that encases it in a Star Wars-style force field. It says it teamed up with a "world-class" physicist who invented a self-activating force field that would spring into action whenever it detected that your phone was in peril.
Unfortunately, the technology only works on small objects with the maximum size being that of "the largest mobile phone in existence". Of course, should such a failsafe protection actually be invented, it would essentially put mobile phone insurance companies out of business. Ha, hoist by your own petard, MobileInsurance.co.uk.
Iron Man suit
Firebox claimed to be exclusively selling an actual, working Iron Man suit for ?250,000. The retailer said it was a safe mode version that combined existing military grade technologies with highly experimental technology.
It won't therefore come with weapons, being a consumer version, but Firebox did ensure us that its flight abilities and integrated sensory systems are still fully operational.
The icing on the cake of this splendid April Fools' joke is that it was claimed a full waiver would have to be ?signed "indemnifying Firebox in the unlikely event of injury or appearance of arch-nemeses".
Dexter the internet crime sniffing police dog
Cyber crime is on the rise and online fraud and identity theft are major issues these days, that's why the Get Safe Online team have teamed with the City of London Police to utilise the talents of Dexter. He's a police dog that can sniff out crime through a desktop computer.
Of course, it's just an April Fools' joke. However, the threat itself is very real and there's an underlying message to Get Safe Online's story. Both the scheme and the City of London Police are using Dexter and his image to raise awareness about malware and spyware. Online fraud is estimated to cost on average ?765 per adult in the UK. That's huge.
"Criminals are developing more sophisticated ways to exploit us online and it’s essential to take sensible measures to protect your computer," said Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online. "Online activities that seem completely harmless, such as searching the internet, downloading, playing games and even using email could result in your computer being infected with viruses and spyware if you haven’t taken steps to safeguard your computer."
Don't be fooled, is the message.?You can find out more at getsafeonline.org.
Beer Suitcase
Another of Firebox's annual bogus products is one that would do rather well for real, we would imagine. It's a suitcase that dispenses beer so that you can take your favourite ale on holiday with you.
It comes with a removable tap, reinforced corners and can dispense the perfect pint, said the retailer. Ballcocks, say we. Mind you, at ?69.99 we'd have one off Firebox's hands like a shot.
Toaster.io
In what must be one of the most elaborate April Fools jokes, an entire website, with special press area and high-res imagery, has been set up for the greatest toaster you'll ever see, the Toaster.io, by Bizzby.
Coming with iPhone connectivity, tweet and post to Facebook buttons, and a built-in extinguisher to put out toast that's caught alight, it is even claimed that the Toaster.io can be uploaded with a brand name or logo design that can be burnt into one side of the bread. Brilliant.
Everything was revealed the moment you click to download the iPhone or Android application from iTunes or Google Play respectively. However, the company still asks you to register your interest in case it feels that it is possible to make the Toaster.io a real product in the future. Certainly, we could see some of its feature set working for sure.
Google Maps Treasure Maps
Google loves a good April Fools joke or twenty and we particularly like its addition of Treasure Maps, a new mode on Google Maps that appeared for the day.
"Explore 2D hand drawn landmarks," it says in explanation. "Find hidden treasure chests." Full of piratey goodness, aaargh.
Certainly, the way it transforms any map into an old fashioned, time-stained treasure map is excellent. And Street View is seen through a telescope in sepia tone, which is a nice extra touch. We only hope Google will keep this mode beyond the one day.
YouTube is closing, has been an eight-year competition
After midnight, said competition director of YouTube, Tim Liston, the video site would no longer be accepting entries or new videos. It has, he revealed, been just an eight-year competition to find the best video in the world, reviewing every single clip uploaded to the site in the process.
And to further enhance the gag, the company encourages you to watch as many videos as possible on YouTube before it delete's everything on the site at midnight tonight.
Speaking of which, the video clip that has accompanied this April Fools Day joke is very funny indeed and should be watched immediately. While the gag is not as believable as some out there, the effort put into its creation has to be applauded.
Tags: April Fools Day ThinkGeek Firebox
April Fool's Day 2013: The best stories from around the web originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100
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