Phil Bradley's weblog: April Fools Day pranks

April 01, 2010

April Fools Day pranks

OK, well it's getting around to that time of year isn't it. Let's see what we've got:

Google Japan has come up with a replacement for the qwerty keyboard, including specific keys for emoticons (which actually isn't a bad idea!). Some nice images included in the spoof.

Google Australia meanwhile has gone for OCCA - Optimise for Colloquial Cultural Articulation 'which means that our products can now be tailored specifically for the typical Strayan user'. I guess it's funnier if you're an Australian.

The Guardian has a great one with their 'Labour's secret election strategy. Bring on no-nonsense hard man Gordon Brown' It's a poster - with the PM half in shadow, staring to the left, with 'Step outside posh boy' in white, with 'Vote Labour. Or else' below it. The article itself is a great read. I loved "Possible confrontations under discussion include pushing Andrew Marr out of the way while passing him on a staircase, or thumping the back of Jeremy Paxman's chair so hard that he flinches in shock." (Jeez - I really do hope this IS a spoof!)

Another Google prank is the TiSP which is an update on their home toilet wifi gag of a couple of years ago. "Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines." As you'd expect with Google, it's well thought out, with lots of diagrams, FAQ and so on.

Skyscanner is boasting 'countdown starts for budget space tourism lift off'. They go on to say "There will be no in-flight service, no baggage allowance and no seating – passengers will have to stand throughout the duration of the space flight, although ‘buttock and arm pit support’ will be available."

OK, it's now 1am and I'm going to bed. Doubtless there will be a lot more April Fool jokes as the day carries on, so keep your eyes open!

[Edited to add:]

YouTube announced a Text only mode for their videos to save bandwidth. It's actually quite clever... Ah, I've deleted it from the post since it only seems to work actually on the site, which is a shame. Go have a look though!

Google docs are offering the chance to upload anything you want to real storage - they'll come around and pick it up and save it for you.

Wikipedia has a main page item on Wife selling. TechCrunch reckons this is an April Fools prank, but I don't think that it is.

The Independent has news that the Hadron Collider II is planned for the Circle Line.

Google UK is offering an app to translate for animals on their android phone.

The Sun 'newspaper' says that it's developed a flavored page and invites readers to lick the newsprint to reveal a hidden taste. Didn't see this on the site, but I did see a 'video exclusive' on how football referees were going to be using Segways in future to keep up with fast players.

Daily Telegraph says that an ISP is using ferrets to deliver broadband services.