tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54320645619851595832024-03-05T08:45:35.028-08:00Computer Professionals for April FoolishnessA repository for April Fool publications and stories, past, present, and future. No Computer Professionals were harmed in the preparation of this blog. Compliance monitored by PETA.Jim Horninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01813631663553781471noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-69942975633317059822013-05-17T03:42:00.000-07:002013-05-17T03:42:29.227-07:00Volks-FacebookWoah, didn't catch this until catching up on the German computing bi-weekly c't on vacation. They reported that the German government was planning on a government-run social network, Volks-Facebook. All your data belongs to the government - and the fotos with you caught speeding will be delivered to your home page. The joke was so good (and the German government so inept at doing Internet-based Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-89482219245640460922013-04-02T02:42:00.001-07:002013-04-02T02:42:28.619-07:00Jim Hornung - †18 January 2013This post, unfortunately, is not a joke. One if the founders of this blog, Jim Hornung, passed away in January of this year. Peter G. Neumann writes in his obituary at comp.risks:
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 3:04 PM
From: Peter Neumann
Subject: Jim Horning, 24 Aug 1942 -- 18 Jan 2013
Jim Horning was one of my favorite friends, colleagues, associates,
and a long-time inspiration, Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-22964036447333645442013-04-02T02:21:00.001-07:002013-04-02T02:21:34.506-07:00YouTube Submissions now closedYouToube announced that they would be shutting down, as the submission process is now over and they will spend a decade reviewing all of the material and selecting a winner. You did read and understand the End User License Agreement, didn't you, when you uploaded your movie?Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-77528543492711625612013-04-02T02:18:00.001-07:002013-04-02T02:18:47.222-07:00Google NoseThe new scentsation in search! Of course, they only show roses and a pretty girl, but imagine if you could smell that computer geek on the other end of the phone? On the other hand, maybe be glad this is just a joke.
Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-42374097718442515562013-04-02T00:11:00.001-07:002013-04-02T00:13:26.408-07:00Bing-BlingBing seems to have put up at least two jokes this year:
Introducing Bing Basic - "We decided to go back to basics, to the dawn of the Internet, to
reimagine Bing with more of a 1997, dial-up sensibility in mind."
They have a new SEO tag - Google won't let me show it, though
Lots of fun!Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-90708452990035169812013-04-02T00:04:00.002-07:002013-04-02T00:04:33.424-07:00The Freedom BayIn a surprise move, the Pirate Bay has moved to the USA and renamed itself "The Freedom Bay". I suppose they have Freedom Fries in the cafeteria. Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-51488968211869377392013-04-02T00:02:00.001-07:002013-04-02T00:02:29.749-07:00Play-Doh 3D PrinterThinkGeek has a new product that is soooooo modern: a 3D printer that uses Play-Doh to print. I really want to have one of these, and 50 $ is a great price. What a shame this seems to be a joke.
Why buy things from stores when you can print them yourself? The DIY 3D printer revolution is here, friends, and have we got the entry-level 3D printer for you. It's the Play-Doh 3D Printer, and it's Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-34544556613331552372012-04-06T01:22:00.000-07:002012-04-06T01:22:41.075-07:00ICANN Announces Surprise Termination of Domain Name Expansion Program; Plans Own DissolutionMARINA DEL REY, California (ZAP) -- In a stunning and unexpected announcement, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced the immediate termination of its controversial and much criticized plan for a vast expansion of generic top-level Internet domain names (gTLDs), and has set an aggressive timetable for the dissolution of ICANN itself. [more]
Thanks, Lauren Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-23029956341220973882012-04-01T15:21:00.002-07:002013-04-02T00:02:51.200-07:00Google Nude ViewAlso reported by the EFF:
Google's New "Nude View" Program Raises Privacy Concerns
Privacy advocates are calling foul on a new partnership
between Google and the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) that would index the backscatter x-ray
images taken at airline security checkpoints. "This will
help singles get a first look even before the first date,"
said a Google spokesman. "Google Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-67433749535340204812012-04-01T14:55:00.000-07:002012-04-01T15:20:14.319-07:00Creativity MurderThe EFF reported on April 1, 2012:
MPAA Announces Kickstarter Campaign for Film Decrying
Internet's Impact on Creative Works
In a statement posted on its Wordpress blog this week, the MPAA announced that it will respond to the Internet's "destructive" effect on creative works with a new PSA, to be funded on the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. "Rampant content theft -- or as we call it, Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-56237277894477367902012-04-01T10:24:00.001-07:002012-04-01T10:24:11.975-07:00Blog from the AfterlifeThe BBC reports: The Earth has exploded, killing everyone.Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-90144851038490667122012-04-01T04:47:00.001-07:002012-04-01T04:47:10.525-07:00Freenode to keep logs for 5 yearsFreenode announces:
"In accordance with ACTA [...] All channels on the network will be logged and stored for a period of five (5) years. These logs will be made available to network staff and authorized governement [sic] officials [...] Beginning April 31st [...]"
Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-17499259421204705032012-03-22T05:00:00.002-07:002012-03-22T05:00:56.572-07:00Review of April Fool's Day TransactionsKind of didn't get around to recording what went on in 2011, but I have just learned of the esteemed Review of April Fool's Day Transactions, which I heartily recommend ;) They have been publishing a review since 2006. I am hard put to decide which one I like best.Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-61783610365604488172010-04-28T07:57:00.000-07:002010-04-28T07:57:46.513-07:00Online Shoppers Sold their SoulsFrom 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/Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-74444015830739412592010-04-02T04:23:00.000-07:002010-04-02T04:23:09.280-07:00iCadeThinkGeek is supposedly selling a cabinet that makes a retro arcade game out of an iPad.
Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-50152082923685613302010-04-02T04:13:00.000-07:002010-04-02T04:13:39.234-07:00New York Times on iPadAwww. 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 Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-81345081373786639082010-04-02T04:02:00.000-07:002010-04-02T04:02:47.469-07:00Apple includes new features on iPadTÚAW (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.Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-75848818135247541842010-04-01T12:18:00.001-07:002010-04-01T12:18:27.711-07:00Collection of pranks on LifehackerLifehacker also has a collection of April Fool's pranks.Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-23277880054117825632010-04-01T09:38:00.000-07:002010-04-01T09:38:38.344-07:00Texting on YouTubeYouTube announces a high-resolution text mode for its videos that has this Matrix-like feel to it.Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-57093836271062690012010-04-01T09:35:00.000-07:002010-04-01T09:35:43.502-07:00Slashdot Discussion Roulette ChatSlashdot 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 Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-54319468958125552222010-04-01T09:32:00.000-07:002010-04-01T12:15:07.067-07:00Google renames itself TopekaAnd 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.”Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-67575048257256117572010-04-01T03:37:00.000-07:002010-04-01T03:37:40.191-07:00Internet has been turned offThe 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. Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-60494957773266713562010-03-27T06:45:00.000-07:002010-03-27T06:45:58.036-07:00Professors get revenge through RateYourStudents.comThe 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 Debora Weber-Wulffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602911135725939409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-10031318464585339642009-04-06T19:25:00.000-07:002009-04-06T19:29:00.311-07:00Sumsing Turbo 3000: The ultimate in convergence.Mobile phone with many surprising built-in functions. Must be seen to be believed.Jim Horninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01813631663553781471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5432064561985159583.post-23123451736579176172009-04-02T01:49:00.000-07:002009-04-06T19:29:33.208-07:00WebCam spy feature for websitesWoopra, the world’s fastest growing Web Analytics provider, today announced that the next version of its wildly popular real-time Website monitoring application will allow users to remotely activate and view Website visitor’s built-in Webcams.The company’s chief scientist, Dr. Lirpa Sloof, said, “Woopra already provides the most robust, feature rich and easy to use Web analytics available. Today Jim Horninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01813631663553781471noreply@blogger.com0