Roundup: April Fool's Day jokes from around the Web
It’s April Fools Day, and tech companies this year are out in full force to put a smile on your face. If you’re wondering where to go and get fooled online this year, look no further than some of the April Fools Day jokes that we’ve discovered.
Google Maps, a NES tribute
If you’ve needed directions recently and resorted to Google Maps, you might have noticed that the map was in 8-bit. Nice touch Google. For the geography majors out there, this simplified map in fact is helpful in delineating exactly where the mountainous regions are located throughout the globe. But that’s beside the point. The extent to which Google has gone to “sell” their prank on April 1st is rather extensive. They’ve outfitted the map with a “Quest mode” where users can scope out monsters and visit 8-bit landmarks. If you happen to drill down to Street View, you’ll notice that the landscape has been changed into a multi-colored 8-bit world.
To top off their homage to the NES, Google released a video revealing its 8-bit build for Google Maps in NES cartridge form.
All of YouTube onto DVDs
For the complete YouTube collection on your choice of DVDs, videocassettes, laser disc or Betamax, you can have your selection shipped to you by freight, postage or boat for the low, low price of $2.7 million. Unfortunately, if you’ve place your order today you’re in for a long wait. When checking out our items for purchasing, we were notified that we would be receiving our collection on June 16, 2045, “Due to heavy demand.” Considering the sheer volume of content being burned for countless people, we’d say that a 33-year wait is a reasonable shipping time.
Prank Articles
We’ve noticed clever articles cropping up from The Register’s breaking news on Apple’s patent on the rectangle, Stuff magazine’s 42-inch Apple iPad exclusive, and TechRadar’s coverage on the leak of Photoshop CS6’s Content-Aware Age Tool, which will allow the users to, “Dramatically increase or decrease the age of a person captured in a photograph.”
Self-driving NASCAR cars, sponsored by Google
Google announced a partnership with NASCAR to integrate self-driving cars into races. Stemming from the self-driving project, Google is driving forward with Google Racing, “a groundbreaking partnership with NASCAR to help self-driving vehicles compete in the world of stock car racing.” Having recently publicized a video of its self-driving car taking a legally blind man to run errands, we wouldn’t be surprised if one day racers control their race cars with their Droid phones.
Conan O’Brien buys out Mashable
If you head over to Mashable, you’ll notice Conan O’Brian’s iconic hairdo capping off Mashable’s logo. Accompanying the logo is Conan’s mark, “Powered by Conan O’Brian.” Yes, for the day, Conan has taken over Pete Cashmore’s position as CEO after an all-out buyout. “I’m sick and tired of scanning the Internet looking for any news about technology: Devices, gadgets, what’s coming up, maybe even a rating system for gadgets that are out there. It doesn’t exist on the web and it’s high time it did,” Conan writes. “I go to the Mashable see the atrocious job they’re doing. So I decided it’s time for me to take it over.”
TechCrunch Drama
TechCrunch has been bleeding talent, and its writers have been infamously known to share their thoughts on the drama taking place behind the scenes. We can’t help but to see TechCrunch these days as a blog for tech news, acquisitions and, on occasion, an all out civil war. Appropriately, TechCrunch has come to its enses and created the new category, TechCrunch Drama, where readers can revel in the latest TechCrunch banter and resignings. We’re thinking that maybe it’s a category that’s deserving of a permanent place on their site.
Reddit Timeline
Facebook eat your heart out. If you look at Reddit’s front page, Reddit has trademarked its “Timeline,” which is reminiscent of Facebook’s own Timeline. Since the beginning of time, also known as “Hello World,” Reddit has been able to capture the thoughts, AMAs, memes and all else since the Big Bang. As Reddit writes, all this was made possible by Reddit’s groundbreaking time traveling technology.
“Using never-seen before time travel technology, in addition to news, we are now able to offer olds, soon-to-bes, and everything in-between. We’ve taken the most interesting eras of the past and future and condensed them into new areas called ‘timereddits’.”
Everything from the past, present and future is captured on Reddit’s timeline from “Hello World,” to “the end of time” and filled with submissions tailored to specific eras. We’ve noticed that Half Life: Episode 3 has finally come out with a trailer in 42000 AD and finally released before the end of time. Even wittier is the TIL submission, “TIL our Google Overlords’ first endeavor was an Internet search engine.” Touché.
When you look at this from a Redditor’s perspective, you have to admit that the extent with which Reddit had gone to sell this practical joke is admirable. To an extent, while Reddit’s front page hasn’t changed dramatically since its inception, we’re hoping that the timeline is here to stay.
Sony VIAO Q
Companies are competing to build the next razor-thin or micro-sized computers. As computer parts shrink, so do computers. That’s what users want, after all. Sony has taken this fad and created an amusing concept laptop with the introduction of the new VIAO Q line. Sony boasts the VIAO Q as the “World’s Smallest Ultrabook.” Unlike the iPhone, which can be barely squeezed into a skinny jean’s pocket, Sony can guarantee that its laptop will fit snugly just about anywhere. But despite its diminutive size, the laptop boasts 8GB of RAM, a 0.75-inch x 1.25-inch Full HD 1080p, LED backlit display, AMD Radeon HD 6650M (1GB) graphics, and a Lithium Battery Coin (CR2032-B1A).
Thinkgeek’s April “products”
With spring having arrived, ThinkGeek, seller of products that you may not necessarily need, but want to buy anyway, has come out with a new line of products. Highlights include an electronic attachment to an iPad that combines the classic Hungry Hungry Hippos game with the iPad, “The Star Wars Admiral Ackbar Singing Bass” that plays the Cantina song, the “K-cup 5-star Meal,” a full course made instantly using a coffee machine, “Minecraft Marshmallow Creeps,” and a personal favorite, the “Skyrim Electronic Dragon Shout Hoodie,” with “Fus Ro Dah!” and 19 other shouts included. But while April Fools jokes from most companies disappear after the day’s end, Thinkgeek has made it a tradition of selecting the fan favorite products and making it into the real deal.
Minecraft Marshmallow Creeps and Skyrim hoodie? Shut up and take my money.
Tablifier turns your desktop PC into a tablet
ReviverSoft has some DIY advice for budget-minded modders who would rather build their own tablets than buy one. Yes, you too can be the proud owner of a device just as sleek as the latest iPad with a few garbage ties, an old backpack, a few other supplies, and of course, plenty of duct tape. Check out the full infographic for detailed instructions, like “purchase one of those ‘change LCD screen into touchscreen’ thingies off the Internet.” Good luck!
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve found any other pranks that we should check out.
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
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