April Fools’ day comes just once a year (thankfully) and every year a number of tech companies do their best to try and trick people into believing they are doing something ridiculous. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t.
CBR rounds-up five of the best April Fools’ day jokes.
1. Google’s ‘mic drop’
Google had a little bit of a hiccup with its prank the Gmail mic (microphone) drop. The idea was to unveil a fake tech product that would make us laugh, unfortunately it backfired.
Google added the feature to people’s Gmail with a button next to reply. Pressing it meant you would reply to an incoming message, archive it and add a GIF of a minion, made famous by the films Despicable Me.
Not everybody found this funny, especially people who were responding to extremely serious emails.
One example saw the GIF placed in an email response to funeral arrangements.
The result of this was that Google removed the feature and apologised for adding it in the first place.
2. Tesla Model W
Tesla is getting out of the car industry and is moving right into the wearable device market.
The company announced the Tesla Model W, with W standing for watch. In a joke aimed at the smartwatch market Tesla wrote on its blog: "This incredible new device from Tesla doesn’t just tell the time, it also tells the date. What’s more, it is infinitely adjustable, able to tell the time no matter where you are on Earth. Japan, Timbuktu, California, anywhere! This will change your life. Reality as you know it will never be the same."
The blog post went on to say that users would no longer have to rudely examine their phones to read text messages, instead they can politely stare at the tiny screen on their wrist without anyone noticing.
The post ended with: "This is in no way a competitive response to what some other company is doing."
3. Cisco FOX
Facial Overlay for WebEX or FOX for short, plays up the dramatic improvements in facial recognition and augmented technologies technology, saying that it has the potential to totally transform the way we communicate with each other.
FOX will use common facial recognition techniques and match 16 points of reference to overlay pictures of yourself with images of when you’re looking your best – in live images.
The company wrote on its blog: "Using WebEx we want to enable people to work from any time, any location. So that horrible feeling when you might not be looking your best for a transatlantic board meeting will be no more."
Quoting early adopter Boris Brush, a 23-year-old green-tech entrepreneur, it said: "My wardrobe isn’t the greatest at the best of times, and part of the joy of working from home is being able to wear my Star Wars pyjamas with zero judgement from colleagues or investors."
This may be a prank but I’m sure there would be plenty of takers were it real.
4. Kaspersky – are you willing to sacrifice a finger for a smartphone?
According to Kaspersky Lab a shortage of smartphones in the independent European state of Gluma has led the government to try a new and radical approach to control demand.
The approach? If you want to buy one of the few phones available in the state, you must sacrifice a finger.
It all sounds very crazy but Kaspersky said that quite a few people are actually accepting this condition.
Kaspersky continued its April Fools’ prank with comments from a media psychologist, who likens the sacrifice to those who marry objects, with consumers developing strong emotional relationships towards an unanimated object.
5. Spicing up a £1bn tech unicorn workspace with Jamie Oliver-style cuisine
Dubbed the ‘Bakery of Future Ideas’ in what sounds like the perfect place to work, the company WorkNote has opened a new work-sharing hub that blends great food and Silicon Roundabout.
Glupek Kwiecien, a techpreneur originally from Katowice in Poland is setting it up and has been influenced by his childhood idols inventor Elon Musk, movie-maker George Lucas and sugar evangelist Jamie Oliver.
The WorkNote premises aim to offer a completely sugar-free, non-smoking, vape-friendly environment.
Facilities will include mega fast broadband using 5G technology, on-tap sugar-free craft beers, on-site beard-trimming and piercing salons, in addition to a competitive table-tennis league with coaching from a former Chinese Olympic champion.
WorkNote standing desks are available to rent for £1000 + VAT per month.
That’s all folks!
