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  1. Hardware
April 1, 2015

April Fools! 10 of today’s best tech pranks

Did you fall for CBR's April Fool's story today?

By Joao Lima

A few hours ago, we published a piece on smart kitchen appliances rejecting junk food. Toasters refusing to toast anything other than wholegrain bread, freezers shutting down when ice cream is detected. A truly Smart horror.

April Fools! Rest assured there are no militant freezers and toasters lurking in the kitchen, taking control of your diet.

Scrolling the internet today is highly dangerous, as many users will be left in confusion over what is real and what is fake.

From Google Maps featuring Pac-Man, to Samsung unveiling a smartknife, the tech world has inundated social networks with some fun, original pranks.

CBR is here to help you navigate the minefield that is April Fools Day, exposing 10 of the best pranks we have seen today.

1. Elgoog

Cannot guess this one? Try using a mirror. Google has inverted its entire search engine, located at the inverted url https://com.google/ and turning everything from searches to pictures on its head.

With all content displayed backwards, users have an added challenge to find those Wikipedia entries or use Google Translation services.

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2. Google Maps Pac-man

Google is always trying to better last year’s prank, with this year seeing Pac-Man appearing in Google Maps. You can now play Pac-man in Picadilly Circus or Times Square using Google Maps!

When you visit the platform, you will see a box in the lower left side of the screen showing a Pac-man image. Click on this and the whole page will transform itself into the arcade game.

Pac-man was invented in 1980 by Japanese designer Toru Iwatani. The black background that generally features in the game has now been replaced with street maps, where you just have to navigate Pac-Man while eating all the dots and running away from Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.

3. MS-DOS Mobile

Microsoft has taken advantage of the special day today to launch its most recent software for Nokia Lumia phones.

The new operative system takes phones back in time to pixelised images, black and white display and lots of coding, with Microsoft claiming it had migrated millions of users already.

Users have to type in commands to the prompt to access files and folders. The main apps are located in C:PROGRAMSPHONE. You can access the file by typing these commands: cd programs, cd phone or dir. This lists all the available apps.

For example, typing camera.exe in the next line launches the camera. The camera has three modes: ASCII, B&W, and CGA. You can also switch between the front and rear camera.

Daniel Glass who led design on the project, said: "Turning our back on graphics was hugely liberating. We’ve dropped the resolution, and in doing so re-discovered our roots."

You can download the MS-DOS Mobile App for Windows Phone for free.

4. Nokia’s Cat tracking

Cat owners will be thrilled to know their four legged friend will be safe and sound 24/7. Finish tech giant Nokia today introduced the industry’s first smart cat tracking device.

The collar, to be used by kitties all over the globe, contains a geographic sensor that will let their owners track their movements in a live map named PurrView.

The wearable works with the MewGo operative system.

5. Orbotix Selfiebot

#SelfieBot. Those days of selfie sticks and extending your arms to get that perfect selfie with Big Ben in the background are totally over. GoSphero developed a robot that can do this for you.

The Selfiebot is a flying robot that can detect where you are and position itself in front of you to take a picture. The machine is a size similar to a watermelon and can fly around in order to capture your best pout.

6. PlayStation Flow

‘Take your PS4 gameplay experience to a deeper level’ said Playstation. The company today released swimming goggles that allow players to combine gaming with real life swimming.

If you find yourself in a situation where gaming and swimming are combined, then the PlayStation Wearable Entertainment Technology division recommends you to simply pause the game, head to the nearest pool and resume playing.

The LCD head-mounted goggles download game data from PlayStation 4 via Bluetooth technology. Once players are in the water, they only have to tap the PS button on the goggles to connect to to the PS4 and view gameplay.

Waterproof earphones help swimmers to hear all the action in stunning detail – even underwater. The device comes together with a portable dryer to keep the equipment safe and clean at all times.

PS has been spending the last few months working on this and other virtual reality solutions.

7. Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge

We have Samsung smartphones, tables, cameras and TVs, but today is the day Samsung hits chopping boards with a smartknife.

The Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge is the world’s smartest kitchen knife and takes advantage of Smasung’s latest S6 curved edge smartphone.

The South Korean giant promises that this knife cuts up to 50% faster than normal knifes, with the retractable blade protecting against cuts. KNOX Security software is deployed to hide the sharp edge away before it makes contact with human skin. However, do not forget to put your fingerprints on the system first…

A blood sensor will also restrict you from cutting another person. Bad news for serial killers here.

Samsung thought of everything and made the knife foldable to be carried everywhere. It also includes a thermometer to let you know the temperature of your meat.

8. Shoes Selfie

Selfie-sticks are being banned all across the world – in the Tower of London you risk losing your head if you’re seen with one – so selfie lovers had to come up with something new.

Miz Mooz has come up with a shoe selfie dock. You only have to be good at gymnastics to lift your leg up enough until the phone, docked at the end of your shoe, reaches eye level to take the so desired selfie. Amazing!

9. UK Relationship App

The app everyone was waiting for. A software application that will reverse divorces, reunite couples and save the UK economy £2.5 billion per year. Silicon Roundabout presents the DUN app, set to bring ‘appiness’ to unhappy UK households.

Downloadable from Apple, Google and Microsoft app stores, the DUN app has been designed by marriage counsellors to solve, with a daily finger-swipe, the complex issues at the heart of relationship breakdowns.

The DUN app works using the power of list-building and gamification techniques to help users satisfy their partners’ desires. Menial tasks are suggested by one partner using an easy-to-use interface, capable of very basic mindreading when used correctly and performed by their partners to earn DUN points – when they are completed, or ‘done’.

The company is already hard at work on its next app, which will reunite couples from beyond the grave.

10. Tintri VMwatch

Tintri announced the launch of the world’s first storage fashion accessory, the VMwatch.

It replaces the LUNwatch offered by all other storage providers, which uses a random combination of numbers and watch hands to vaguely indicate time. The VMwatch comes with a removable strap, whereas the LUNwatch was exclusively connected to storage devices with handcuffs.

Consumers will be able to get their hands on three different models: the Basic Edition with diamond-encrusted bezel; a Performance Edition with burnt orange bezel; and a Hello Kittie Edition with all-black bezel.

The battery life has been extended to last up to 19 hours and an online app store has also been set up. From today, the watch users will be able to download LUNcraft, Angry Admins and Storage Tetris.

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