Tag: April Fools Day

Texting-Only “E-Lane” Makes Light of Distracted Walkers

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has become the first city to initiate a groundbreaking program tackling the issue of distracted walking. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the E-Lane.

“Philadelphia is the city of firsts. On April 1st 2012, the world again sees a first in Philadelphia,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “Stand on any sidewalk in Philadelphia you will see fellow citizens with busy lives who can’t take the time to look up from their IPhones, BlackBerries and other electronic devices. The E-Lane is a safe and convenient option for those distracted walkers and should make sidewalks safer for the rest of us. More Philadelphians than ever before rely on mobile technology to do business and stay in touch with family and friends . We need to accommodate them.”

It’s true. Many people are so busy and rely so much on their mobile devices that they cannot be bothered to actually pay attention to where they are walking. Because of this, the city has decided to put all texters-and-walkers into their own lane on the sidewalk. This way, they can be protected from everyone else, and everyone else can be protected from them.

Check out the Mayor discussing the program below:

Okay. You might have sensed some felicitousness. The E-Lane is not actual a reality, but a April Fool’s joke played by the city. But the joke wasn’t just made for the hell of it. The Mayor’s Office of Transportaton and Utilities wants to use this to bring light to a serious issue:

Here is a look at the history of the E-Lane. We decided to have fun with a serious issue – distracted walking. Distracted driving get lots of attention, as it should, but a growing issue in cities is distracted walking. We are all pedestrians, so hopefully our fun can start a dialogue about making sure everyone gets home safe at the end of the day.

I’m a habitual textwalker. And though I’ve yet to run into a pole, a baby in a stroller, or perhaps walk off a pier, apparently distracted pedestrians are being hit by cars four times a day in that city.

Of course, the problem isn’t limited to texting. Words with Friends, making music choices, and Facebooking are all things that could lead to distracted walking. Are you guilty of any of this? Do you think people should pay more attention walking in busy cities? Let us know in the comments.

[h/t Newsvine]

April 2, 2012
iOS 5.1 Jailbreak April Fool’s Day Prank Angers Some

An April Fool’s Day gag drew the ire of a number of would-be iOS jailbreakers yesterday. A post on iJailbreak.com proclaimed that a new untethered iOS 5.1 jailbreak for A5 and A5X iOS devices (iPhone 4S, iPad 2, new iPad) was available. The article offered users a supposed link to download the AprilRa1n jailbreak tool and jailbreak their devices.

Of course, there were plenty of hints that this was a gag. If the name AprilRa1n wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the phrase “april-fools-joke” in the article’s URL should’ve been a clue. Failing that, there’s the disclaimer at the bottom of the article:

Finally, if that wasn’t enough, there’s the download link. Instead of initiating a download of the AprilRa1n tool, the download link goes to the following video:

Some people, however, weren’t quite sharp enough to pick up on the hints, and went ahead and updated their devices to iOS 5.1 anyway. In times past, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem: just roll back to the previous version of iOS, re-jailbreak, and you’re done. It’s a pain in the neck, but not a huge problem. Unfortunately, though, Apple took steps this time around to ensure that the upgrade to iOS 5.1 is a one-way trip. Once you’ve updated, there’s no going back. Which means that those poor souls who updated their devices without reading to the end of the article (or checking the date, or the disclaimer, or the article URL, or clicking the download link) are stuck waiting for the real iOS 5.1 jailbreak. Unfortunately for them, as we reported last week, they may have several weeks to wait.

As you might expect, those who upgraded (and those who want to make fun of them) took to the post’s comments. Here are a few gems.

At least two people went ahead and upgraded to iOS 5.1:

Some got the joke but weren’t amused:

A few decided to play along:

While others point out that the clues were obvious:

What do you think? Was this a good joke or just too mean? Let us know in the comments.

April 2, 2012
Mashable Bought By Conan O’Brien, Replaces CEO

Tech site Mashable has been bought out by the most unlikely of people – late night comedian Conan O’Brien. The purchases comes as a result of O’Brien’s frustration over a lack of decent technology news Web sites and he intends to change it in big ways.

The video posted today announcing the purchase of the company details what happens between Conan O’Brien and former Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore. O’Brien called Cashmore at home and yelled angrily, and I quote, “You’re out! Get out! You’re through Cashmore! Through! Get out!” Unfortunately for O’Brien, verbal threats weren’t enough to get Cashmore to step down, and that was when O’Brien went for every man’s weakness – the all mighty dollar. Yes, O’Brien has bought his way into the CEO-ship of Mashable for a grand amount of $3,500. You read that right, folks. O’Brien is a big spender and he is not afraid to empty his bank account.

Even though it’s a Sunday, O’Brien has already been enormously busy as the new CEO of Mashable. He has changed the Mashable color scheme to white and orange with his hair adorning the “e” in the Mashable logo. He has also been breaking news in the tech sector today when he stole and live tested the rumored Apple TV.

It’s going to be an interesting day and week for Mashable as they transition to being run by O’Brien. We wish Cashmore the best of luck in his future endeavors. Perhaps he can take over as CEO of Yahoo! as an April Fools Day joke next year.

April 1, 2012
April Fools Day: Google Pranks Search, Maps And More

Let’s just get this out of the way right now – Google is insane (in a good way). They have pulled off so many pranks today that it’s hard to keep track of all of them. There are so many and they are all pretty fantastic. Let’s jump on the fantastic journey that is Google’s massive April Fools Day campaign.

First, and still the best, was Google Maps 8-bit reimagining. Obviously inspired by classic NES games like Dragon Quest, it transformed the service into a real-world RPG of epic proportions. It even went ahead and transformed some famous landmarks around the world into 8-bit video game structures. I want a game based around this right now and Google Maps already has a sale right here if they ever did make a game.

Google Chrome also announced a new functionality that is sure to increase productivity tenfold – Multitask mode. This mode allows you to plug in and use as many mice as you have ports for. Use both your hands and maybe even your feet in your quest for multitasking.

It’s easy to forget that YouTube is part of the Google family sometimes. It’s easy to remember on April 1, however, because YouTube brings one of the best pranks of the bunch. The YouTube Collection allows you to order all of YouTube on DVD, Betamax, Laser Disc and more. It’s good for those times when you don’t have an Internet connection and want to watch dubstep remixes.

We’ve reported previously on Google’s experiments into self-driving cars. They’re taking it to the next level by bringing their autonomous cars to NASCAR. As you can see below, this is a real car. The drivers seem to welcome the technology, but the fans aren’t too ecstatic.

For mobile Gmail users, the company has introduced Gmail Tap. The new service simplifies typing on a mobile phone by reducing the 26 key count down to two. It does this by bringing back Morse code.

In an attempt to document the Australian outback, Google is equipping over a thousand Kangaroos with a 360-degree head camera for what they called Google Street Roo. The cameras will be powered by solar panels stitched onto the jackets that these special Kangaroos will be wearing. It’s a genius way of getting a natural look at what the Outback contains.

Google isn’t just content with innovating in the fields of maps and search. They are also bringing new technologies to AdWords. The company introduced Click-to-Teleport today and it allows customers to directly connect to businesses by teleporting themselves to said business through Search. The technology is in beta form so Google warns that users may become horribly disfigured like in “The Fly.”

I still find Google Search to be a bit vague sometimes in its results. It doesn’t get much better even when I use Advanced Search. Thankfully, Google has introduced Really Advanced Search. This allows users to search for terms with new metrics like “rhyming slang,” “font,” and “textured background.”

Google has also introduced a way for users to change the weather. Google says, “Don’t like the weather? Now you can change it in your region by selecting from the dropdown to change precipitation and setting your own temperature.” It’s a nifty option, and I would love to change it this week due to storms being in the podcast. I just don’t want to be held responsible for weather changing shenanigans like I’m Cobra Commander or something.

It’s already sold out, but it’s worth mentioning that Google Offers was selling $1 unlimited good parking karma. For only $1, drivers would get:

Prime spots when you need them
Repels parking tickets
Includes 1 space buffer on each side
Shopping cart protection plan
No parallel parking for first 6 months

The fun thing about Google’s pranks is that they are all actually real in some form or another. A lot of their prank Web services can actually be used and they’re fun to boot. Google has proven themselves to be one of the masters of a good April Fools prank because they make them fun.

What was your favorite Google prank? Were there others that you especially liked? Let us know in the comments.

[h/t: Search Engine Watch]

April 1, 2012
The YouTube Collection: Your Favorite Viral Hits On DVD

YouTube, being the most popular online video site, sure has a lot of videos that people may want to watch even when their Internet is down. YouTube now has the solution to your problems. The company has announced a plan to offer all of their video content on DVD.

Announced today as “The YouTube Collection,” it promises to collect all of your favorite YouTube videos onto DVDs for offline viewing. A genius move, I say, but what will YouTube on DVD look like? The company has graciously offered a preview by adding a home button to the video options that opens up a DVD menu. This lets you skip to scenes, turn off audio or begin the ordering process for your real DVDs.

The ordering process couldn’t be easier. When you option to order The YouTube Collection, it asks you what kind of video you want. There’s many options to choose from including the most popular video genres from YouTube including dubstep remixes and cover songs. Upon ordering your discs, you are taken to the shipping options for all 555,000 discs that are to be sent to your home. I suggest going with YouTube’s own personal fleet of shipping trucks, but you are given other options like freight vessel. After all this, you are given the option of what format you want the videos on. DVD is the suggested format, but YouTube also offers their videos on other legacy formats including laser disc and betamax.

After all is said and done, my order came out to be a little under $3 million. That’s a small price to pay for thousands of hours of entertainment whether I’m online or off. The price will fluctuate depending on how many genres you choose. I’m sure you could keep the price under $1 million if you ordered nothing but dubstep remixes.

Being serious for a moment, I usually hate April Fools Day. It’s the one day of the year that companies make ridiculous announcements with some of them sounding real enough that reporters fall for them. YouTube is a champion of the good April Fools Day by making it entertaining and obviously not real. So our hats are off to the guys at YouTube for making another great April Fools Day joke this year.

April 1, 2012
History of April Fools Day: Tips and Pointers to Make 2012 the Best Year Yet

April Fools Day or All Fools Day is a day to pull pranks on your friends, family, and co-workers. How did it start? We are not sure. According to the following YouTube video popular theories claim that the holiday originated from France in 1582 during the reformation of the calendar. Before France adopted the Gregorian calendar they celebrated New year’s for eight days (March 25th-April 1st) and when they switched calendar systems the final day changed from April 1st to January 1st. Due to the lack of technology many people didn’t hear about the change until years later and continued to celebrate the new year in April while other people decided not to celebrate the holiday altogether.

The lapse in information prompted people who celebrated the day according to the Gregorian calendar to make fun of those who were out of sync. This evolved into a tradition of pulling pranks on the first of April and spread to other countries.

This is a trick one Math Professor executed on April Fools Day.

The shadow was created by mixing live action with video.

Last year Google celebrated April Fools Day by creating a bogus job posting that was visible in the search tab.

These videos offer some pointers for aspiring pranksters:

Hopefully the best pranks are yet to come, but check out how we rated last year’s internet pranks.

March 30, 2012
Bryn Mawr College Enjoys Internet April Fools Fun

I’m not sure there’s a “holiday” that gets more Internet love than April Fool’s Day. Sure, the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holidays are well represented on net, in the way of site designs and the like, but they don’t get the kind of effort these sites and other tech-related companies give to the 1st day in April.

Take Google’s commitment to April Fool’s. Every year, they “debut” an impossible web-based service — carrier pigeons, Google on the moon — complete with detailed descriptions of their levity. This year, Google continued the trend by introducing GMail Motion, a silly idea that jokingly uses an elaborate number of body movements to execute commands. While such a thing does not exist, that doesn’t stop Google from going all out in their presentation.

And Google is just one of many “techie” sites to get in the April Fool’s Day spirit.

Over at TechCrunch, they have a comprehensive rundown of the different pranks. There’s one, however, that escaped their round-up post: Bryn Mawr College’s entry into the cyberspace celebration of April 1st. In case you aren’t aware, Bryn Mawr is a women’s college located in near Philadelphia, and it’s one of the schools that make up the Seven Sisters.

While their initial prank — the announcement of the school’s partnership with an alien race, complete with promotional pictures of the momentous agreement — was silly enough, it’s the lead image on school site’s index page, one that makes effective use of the Star Wars motif, complete with Princess Leia’s honey bun hairdo, that takes their prank from “heh” status to a “that’s pretty awesome” level:

As for the alien partnership that began their prank, school president Jane McAuliffe “official stance” on the agreement only made the idea better:

Global partnerships are so 2010. Bryn Mawr is simply beyond global, and we are boldly going where no college has gone before. Our students need to learn to be intergalactic citizens.

Considering the failure that is Mars Needs Moms, maybe next time, the script doctors for Disney will look Bryn Mawr’s way before they try to produce a script dealing with females in sci-fi settings.

April 1, 2011