Monday, 1 April 2013

April Fools Day 2013

The technology industry seems to embrace April Fools day and they always seem to launch some weird and unusual products. Some of them are even revolutionary though. Here is the top 5 launched today:

5 YouTube Shutting Down
We all know YouTube as a video sharing service right? Wrong - YouTube has actually been an online competition to find the best video in the world and after 8 successful years YouTube has decided that from midnight tonight they will stop receiving entries (video uploads) so they can pick a winner. YouTube has 72 hours of footage uploaded to it every minute so the runners of YouTube have centuries of videos to scan through.
The winner of the competition is decided by thousands of YouTube engineers and the winner will be announced in 2023 when all the videos have been processed and checked. Tonight YouTube will delete all current videos for the public and the site will relaunch in a decade with only the winners video being displayed on the front screen.


4 Nokia Microwave
The new Nokia Microwave
Nokia was pleased to announce today a new Microwave. It has a touchscreen front panel which is so sensitive it even works with oven mitts. The awesome device also comes with the latest eye-tracking technology, which stops the food from rotating when you look at it, and it automatically adjusts the temperature depending on how hungry you look. Of course, it also includes an app store so you can play games, check your social networks or even share your food on the PureFood app.
The Microwave is coming to market in the second quarter of 2013 and it will cost just over €399. Other smaller microwaves are also rumoured to be launching for people with smaller appetites.

3 Gmail Blue
Finally, the new revolutionary email system, Gmail Blue, has been launched. Both consumers and developers in the tech industry have been waiting years for this however now, you can experience Gmail in Blue! It has exactly the same features of Gmail apart from now, they are all in the colour blue! Find out more here: http://www.gmail.com/blue


2 Twitter Vowels
Earlier this morning the official Twitter account Tweeted this:
If you follow the link it explains that over the next few days they will be rolling out 'Twttr'. This new service is free and work just like Twitter, only difference is it doesn't let you tweet vowels. For that privilege you need to upgrade to the $5 a month premium package which will let you use the normal Twitter again. This new update will be coming to 100% of the Twitter users over the next few days.

1 Google Nose
Have you ever wished that you could Google search 'Garlic Breath' and then be able to smell Garlic Breath? No - well neither have I - but now you can with Google Nose. You can sign up at http://www.google.com/nose
It is built into Google Search so if you type in something such as 'Garlic Breath' it will give you the option to smell it in the right hand box.
This is amazing technology and it is available for anyone who owns a computer screen.

That concludes my top 5 April Fools Day pranks that the tech companies have pulled on us however there are loads more. Check out the new treasure map on Google maps and Virgin Atlantic's first glass bottomed plane.