Online Shoppers Sold their Souls

From the Risk Archives:

A computer game retailer revealed that it legally owns the souls of
thousands of online shoppers, thanks to a clause in the terms and
conditions agreed to by online shoppers.
[Source; FOXNews.com, 15 Apr 2010; PGN-ed]
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/04/15/online-shoppers-unknowingly-sold-souls/

iCade

ThinkGeek is supposedly selling a cabinet that makes a retro arcade game out of an iPad.

New York Times on iPad

Awww. They didn't get the joke. TechCrunch reported that the newspaper of record, the NYT, would be offered on the iPad.

Actually, they reused an article from the NYT from 1996, replacing "WWW" with "iPad". And the article actually reads just like it might have come from a NYT newsdesk, even if people such as Martin Nisenholtz are now Senior VP for Digital Operations and no longer president of The New York Times Electronic Media Company. The NYT requested take-down, I wonder if they will be using the DCMA to get this blemish removed.

Apple includes new features on iPad

TÚAW (The unofficial Apple Weblog) thinks that there have been a few last-minute changes to the iPad, including a forward facing camera, an SD card slot and a Flash. Fuzzy pictures included.

Collection of pranks on Lifehacker

Lifehacker also has a collection of April Fool's pranks.

Texting on YouTube

YouTube announces a high-resolution text mode for its videos that has this Matrix-like feel to it.

Slashdot Discussion Roulette Chat

Slashdot announces that it is including a roulette chat in a a parody of Chatroulette. 

It's been a long time coming, but we're pleased to announce the latest updates to our discussion software. We've been paying a lot of attention to what other websites have been doing in the space, and as we are only too happy to steal good ideas, from now on all Slashdot stories will now be accompanied by a Roulette-style webcam video chat. In testing, we've discovered that Slashdot users are amazingly likely to engage in informative troll-free discussion when presented with the video image of one of their peers. This new addition to Slashdot nicely rounds out and improves the discussion experience for all users.

It is the same video loop that starts every time, but is well done - if you type something it pretends to have your random partner typing back. 

Google renames itself Topeka

And Topeka renamed itself Google.

In fact, Topeka Google Mayor Bill Bunten expressed it best: “Don’t be fooled. Even Google recognizes that all roads lead to Kansas, not just yellow brick ones.”

Internet has been turned off

The German national news tagesschau reports this morning that there are no IP numbers left because the Chinese have been sucking every available free address. No one has "returned" and numbers they are not using. So the Internet will be down for 24 hours while ICANN switches to IPv6.

The tagesschau reports that it will be increasing its videotext news and still has a teletype in the basement. There is also a fax service installed by which you can pay to have the home page of the news service faxed to you. And BTX will still be working.

They will be using the time without Internet to upgrade their systems. ROTFL.

Professors get revenge through RateYourStudents.com

The student-run newspaper of Concordia College in Moorhead, Montana, got an early start on silly season, publishing their April Fools edition in March:

"This article was published as part of an April Fool's Edition of The Concordian
Concordia students have voiced their true feelings about their professors for quite some time via the Web site RateMyProfessors.com. Many students turn to the Web site for guidance when selecting classes during registration. Now, Concordia professors are turning the tables. They have recently launched a RateYourStudents module on the faculty’s version of C-Port." Full article