Most online April Fool’s jokes are, to put it as kindly as possible, awful. Of all the companies that try to put creative “pranks” together, however, Google is among the best at managing April Fool’s stunts that are geeky enough to be laughed at in a good way rather than an uncomfortable, “I can’t believe someone thought this would be clever” way. This year, Google cooked up a creative new feature for Google Maps that lets users tour America with 8-bit graphics that will make any NES fan shed a nostalgic tear. As an added bonus, the Zelda-like U.S. landscape in this new version of Maps transforms into an 8-bit Street View when the user zooms in all the way. A link to Google’s 8-bit America follows below along with a screenshot of Street View. More →
“What happens when the world’s largest advertising business tries to sell productivity software on the side?” Microsoft asks users in its new Googlighting video. “Beware the Googlighting Stranger.” In response to what is undoubtedly increased pressure from Google’s cloud-based productivity suite, Microsoft has launched an all-out assault on Google and its cloud-based Google Apps product. According to Microsoft, Google’s productivity suite is a joke — a sad side project where Google moonlights in its downtime and uses unwitting corporations as guinea pigs — and businesses would be crazy to play Google’s game. ”Google Apps is an ever-changing solution with experimental features that can increase complexity and the need for change management and training,” Microsoft wrote on its Why Microsoft site. “When your business needs help, Google Apps support falls short of delivering the kind and level of support you demand.” So what exactly does your business need to thrive? Microsoft is glad you asked: “Your organization has diverse needs. With Microsoft, you can deliver the right set of tools for the right users—all with appropriate layers of security and compliance technologies.” Microsoft’s no holds barred anti-Google Apps video follows below. More →
Apple unveiled the next major release of its OS X desktop operating system on Thursday, giving the world a rare early look at what the company has in store for Mac computer users this summer. A revamped Messages app with iMessage integration, the Notification Center and enhanced iCloud integration are among the exciting new features users can look forward to in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Apple loves naming versions of its desktop platform after jungle cats, of course, so Apple deal-hunter DealMac decided to line up the technology giant’s new OS against its namesake. This tale of the tape is definitely good for a few laughs, and a link to the full comparison follows after the break. More →
YouTube exists, and this is why. You see, if it wasn’t for YouTube, there’s no way this guy would have been able to put together this video and share his life-saving insights with the world. From an iPad, to a Kindle, to just sitting in a room full of electronics, dirty electricity is all around us. And it’s dangerous. If you aren’t properly grounded, you’re exposing yourself to harmful radiation. The only way to save yourself? Go buy David Wolfe’s grounding mats, grounding sandals and grounding sleeping bags, hunker down, watch the video, and you too can be free from dirty electricity. Hit the break for a heaping dose of snake oil. More →
BGR has provided extensive coverage of an ongoing saga that has seen numerous digital properties belonging to Sony fall under attack. To date, personal information belonging to well over 100 million Sony customers has been compromised, and nearly 13 million credit card numbers have been stolen. For IT professionals or other tech enthusiasts with weak stomachs, we can understand if reading one story after another about Sony’s security woes might make you a bit queasy. As such, a new site launched recently that has you covered. Hassonybeenhackedthisweek.com answers a single question for those who simply want to cut to the chase: Has Sony been hacked this week? The answer right now, by the way, is “yes.” More →
For those wondering just how loosely Apple uses the term “Genius,” it looks like we now have our answer. A new Tumblr blog titled simply Apple Store Planking showcases photos of Apple Store employees planking on the job. Planking, for those who were lucky enough to be unaware of the phenomenon until now, is a meme that involves people posting photographs of themselves lying face down with their arms at their sides. The practice has become increasingly popular among Darwin Award hopefuls, and now Apple Store employee planking is a meme of its own. Hit the break for a few more photos of Apple Store Planking. More →
There is quite a bit of Internet showmanship that takes place every year on April 1st. Tech companies and blogs — present company excluded — try and swindle users and readers into believing, if only for a moment, that a new, slightly outlandish product or feature is on the way. Google is a frequent offender on April Fool’s Day, and last week the company’s homepage was waxing poetic about its Google Motion service. The faux feature was said to allow users to control Gmail using their computer’s built-in camera and body movements. One week later, University of Southern California scientists, aided by a Microsoft Kinect, have turned the prank into a reality. Leveraging movement tracking software already in the works, the school’s Institute for Creative Technologies demonstrates in a video exactly how Google Motion could work. It’s humorous, interesting, and funny, all at the same time. The video is awaiting your scrutiny after the break. More →
As we can plainly see in this iPad 2 video review, Apple’s second-generation iPad tablet truly is magical. Though previous rumors suggested the iPad 2 would be roughly the same size as Apple’s first iPad, we now see that Apple has opted for a slightly larger form factor. The new 27-inch iPad 2 is still extremely portable, however, and it’s sure to be just as popular as its predecessor. We’re particularly excited about the iPad 2′s new voice-powered photo editing capabilities and the new video editor, which appears to be even more advanced than top-tier professional editing suites. Hit the break for the full video review and prepare to be wowed. More →
Short, creative domains are great and all, but companies need to be careful about the domains they choose lest they send the wrong message. Take, for example, this domain that leads to Research In Motion’s careers page: http://rim.jobs. Unfortunately, someone didn’t think this one all the way through and, well, we hope RIM will pull the plug on this URL pretty soon. If it doesn’t, we have a feeling RIM’s domain might not attract the type of applicants the company is looking for. In the meantime, however, those looking for a career that leads them down the hallowed halls of RIM HQ may find what they’re looking for using http://rim.jobs. More →
The United States’ clandestine security group — the Central Intelligence Agency — has created a task force to, as the Washington Post reports, “assess the impact of the exposure of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables and military files by WikiLeaks.” The article goes on to note that the WikiLeaks Task Force is better known around the Agency by its acronym: WTF. We would like to take this opportunity to snicker at the task force’s acronym choice. Oh the double-entendre, what a fickle mistress you are. More →
And here we thought all Galaxy Tabs were created equal… While Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint customers will be fiddling with wimpy 7-inch Android-powered tablets from Samsung, T-Mobile subscribers apparently have a beast of a slate to look forward to next month. Here are some notable specs according to T-Mobile’s website:
Now that, people, is how you build a tablet! Hit the jump for the full specs according to T-Mobile’s little oopsie.
UPDATE: T-Mobile pulled the page.
Thanks, Manny More →
Allow us, if you will, to inject a little humor into your Friday afternoon. The comedy troop over at JLE have uploaded a “Banned White iPhone 4 Promo” spoof to video-sharing site YouTube. The video has some amazing one liners and lets you know that “if you’ve waited for the white iPhone, you’re an idiot” as you’ve “waited for 5-months for a phone that is a different color that you’re just going to put a cover on anyways.” The three minute spot is after the break, enjoy! More →
