April Fools' Day-aganza!

mario

As in years past, it seems prudent to gather any good April Fools' Day links in one place. I'll start!

Upside-Down YouTube! (all videos linked from front page are flipped upside-down, with a &flip=1 modifier)

illithid235

Gmail Autopilot! A whole new way to email and chat!

mario

Should probably mention that Gmail Autopilot is one of many projects created by CADIE, an artificial intelligence system powered on by Google late last night. You can follow CADIE developments at her blog and YouTube channel.

mario

Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink

Printing presses will fall silent in brave new Twitter-based future. Photograph: Sarah Lee

Consolidating its position at the cutting edge of new media technology, the Guardian today announces that it will become the first newspaper in the world to be published exclusively via Twitter, the sensationally popular social networking service that has transformed online communication.

The move, described as "epochal" by media commentators, will see all Guardian content tailored to fit the format of Twitter's brief text messages, known as "tweets", which are limited to 140 characters each. Boosted by the involvement of celebrity "twitterers", such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Stephen Fry, Twitter's profile has surged in recent months, attracting more than 5m users who send, read and reply to tweets via the web or their mobile phones.

As a Twitter-only publication, the Guardian will be able to harness the unprecedented newsgathering power of the service, demonstrated recently when a passenger on a plane that crashed outside Denver was able to send real-time updates on the story as it developed, as did those witnessing an emergency landing on New York's Hudson River. It has also radically democratised news publishing, enabling anyone with an internet connection to tell the world when they are feeling sad, or thinking about having a cup of tea.

"[Celebrated Guardian editor] CP Scott would have warmly endorsed this - his well-known observation 'Comment is free but facts are sacred' is only 36 characters long," a spokesman said in a tweet that was itself only 135 characters long.

A mammoth project is also under way to rewrite the whole of the newspaper's archive, stretching back to 1821, in the form of tweets. Major stories already completed include "1832 Reform Act gives voting rights to one in five adult males yay!!!"; "OMG Hitler invades Poland, allies declare war see tinyurl.com/b5x6e for more"; and "JFK assassin8d @ Dallas, def. heard second gunshot from grassy knoll WTF?"

Sceptics have expressed concerns that 140 characters may be insufficient to capture the full breadth of meaningful human activity, but social media experts say the spread of Twitter encourages brevity, and that it ought to be possible to convey the gist of any message in a tweet.

For example, Martin Luther King's legendary 1963 speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial appears in the Guardian's Twitterised archive as "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by", eliminating the waffle and bluster of the original.

At a time of unprecedented challenge for all print media, many publications have rushed to embrace social networking technologies. Most now offer Twitter feeds of major breaking news headlines, while the Daily Mail recently pioneered an iPhone application providing users with a one-click facility for reporting suspicious behaviour by migrants or gays. "In the new media environment, readers want short and punchy coverage, while the interactive possibilities of Twitter promise to transform th," the online media guru Jeff Jarvis said in a tweet yesterday, before reaching his 140-character limit, which includes spaces. According to subsequent reports, he is thinking about going to the theatre tonight, but it is raining .

A unique collaboration between The Guardian and Twitter will also see the launch of Gutter, an experimental service designed to filter noteworthy liberal opinion from the cacophony of Twitter updates. Gutter members will be able to use the service to comment on liberal blogs around the web via a new tool, specially developed with the blogging platform WordPress, entitled GutterPress.

Currently, 17.8% of all Twitter traffic in the United Kingdom consists of status updates from Stephen Fry, whose reliably jolly tone, whether trapped in a lift or eating a scrumptious tart, has won him thousands of fans. A further 11% is made up of his 363,000 followers replying "@stephenfry LOL!", "@stephenfry EXACTLY the same thing happened to me", and "@stephenfry Meanwhile, I am making myself an omelette! Delicious!"

According to unconfirmed rumours, Jim Buckmaster, the chief executive of Craigslist, will next month announce plans for a new system of telepathy-based social networking that is expected to render Twitter obsolete within weeks.

Drooling Iguana

I'm thinking we should just drop April 1st from the calendars entirely. We can give the extra day to February so that things still line up with the planet's revolutions around the Sun.

mario

iTunes Store offers first movement of John Cage's 4'33" as free download

Agentcel

I was kind of disappointed not to see anything here :l.

Voltage

Tape magnets to your morning coffee cup, and stick the cup on top of your car as you drive to work. Make sure you have coffee in the cup. Works better if you carpool and your entire carpool all does it.

X'o'Lore

Agentcel wrote: »

I was kind of disappointed not to see anything here :l.

Who needs silly April fools when you have JT anytime you want. Get with the program!

ETA: Browser face gestures.

Mish42

Man, I really want to have John Cage's 4'33" on my playlist. It would seriously make my freakin day. The store is too busy now to download it, but dammit, I will have it by the end of this day!!

X'o'Lore

..."play" it yourself and record it?

shakeycat

IT'S SNOWING !!

... no really, it was

Serephel

The Economist theme park!!!!

AS PART of a strategy designed to broaden the revenue base, leverage content over new platforms and promote The Economist brand to a young and dynamic audience, The Economist Group is delighted to announce the development of a public-entertainment facility that combines the magic of a theme park with the excitement of macroeconomics.

Click on the link to check out a flash version of their park! They have fun rides such as:

The currency high-roller: Float like a butterfly with the euro and drop like a stone with the pound! Chamber of horrors: Tremble at the wailing of distressed debt! Fiscal fantasyland: Watch the economy shrivel before your very eyes as you struggle to stop growth falling! Bankrupt Britain: Pit your wits against the government as you try to sink sterling and bring the country to its knees! The Severe Contest: Try your strength against a bear market!

“Econoland will appeal to the kid in everyone”, said a spokesman for The Economist Group, “although children themselves will not be admitted”. The park will open on April 1st.

Serephel

Double post of:

Expedia offering flights to Mars for $99! A $3 trillion dollar savings!

The final frontier? Not anymore! It’s now cheaper to vacation on Mars than to visit Las Vegas. Capitalize on the Red Planet’s longer days, touring the universe’s grandest of grand canyons, and experimenting with low-gravity sports. Book your interplanetary travel on Expedia today!

1. Take off from an equitorial paradise, site of our launch pad
2. Slingshot around the moon, taking in the lunar landscape
3. FTL (Faster That Light) wormhole technology gets you to Mars in days, not months or years.
4. Entry to Mars takes just 7 minutes. Welcome!

You can choose your spacecraft and hotel options too!

Serephel

Triple post OMGWTFBBQ:

Qualcomm Incorporated bringing wireless coverage through genetically modified Wolfpigeons

Ubiquitous Digital Networking
Interconnectivity has never been more important. Digital networks serve up more and more of our entertainment, information, and communication than ever. Indeed, our ability to easily connect with each other is the foundation of our daily lives.

Qualcomm, with its newly developed convergence program, seeks to create the first truly ubiquitous digital network so that everyone, everywhere, can find themselves connected.

Convergent Innovation
In order to provide the most expansive coverage possible, the convergence program has implanted tiny base stations into thousands of pigeons. “These birds thrive in diverse habitats, from dense cities to unpopulated regions,” says Peter Rauber, director of engineering. “They carry with them a dynamic network as they flock and migrate.” But the birds needed certain improvements to ensure goals were met and safeguarded. According to Rauber, this is where true convergence enters the equation.



“We spliced the pigeons with wolves for a number of reasons,” says Rauber. “The wolfpigeons inherit the survival skills and tenacity of wolves. Together they form a creature of preternatural swiftness. We simply cannot allow our network transmitters to be killed off by feral cats or cold weather.”

Contingent Solutions
“There are certain potentially undesirable consequences that may come with roving, uncontrolled flocks of winged wolves,” says QTC engineer Vijay Bapu, “including destruction of livestock and property, attacks on human babies and the elderly, and perhaps even global despair.” A contingency plan was developed and initiated. “We have combined a shark with a falcon to create the sharkfalcon,” Bapu says.



A widespread wolfpigeon rebellion will be immediately countered with the release of hundreds of thousands of flying sharks. “With their rows of razor-sharp teeth and powerful gripping talons, fueled by a combination of depthless malice and seemingly infinite bloodlust, sharkfalcons will quickly decimate the entire wolfpigeon population,” Bapu says.

Checks and Balances
However, as junior engineer Roland Weatherby points out, “There is no guarantee that the sharkfalcon population will find contentment in the mere annihilation of wolfpigeons.” Indeed, the marauding hordes of sharkfalcons may seek more blood to quench their insatiable thirst. Human blood.

Thus, the convergence team is taking further steps to guarantee the safety and continued existence of mankind. Still in the early stages of development, the crocodeagle is a fusion of crocodile and eagle that promises to deliver mankind from the gaping jaws of a sharkfalcon apocalypse. “A crocodile and an eagle is exponentially better than a shark and a falcon in all ways imaginable, including its ability to screech and do barrel rolls.”

A fleet of crocodeagles, “large enough to blot out the sun” according to Weatherby, will take glorious flight in case the army of war-mongering sharkfalcons should attempt to destroy and consume the human race. The crocodeagles will engage and neutralize any threat posed by the sharkfalcons while providing humanitarian aid to everyone who needs it.

“When all seems lost, the crocodeagle army will restore civilization and safeguard humanity,” Weatherby concludes.

Check out the website for some badass mockups of Wolfpigeons, Sharkfalcons, and Crocodeagles.

bruce

Someone stole my iPhone yesterday, cheeky little joker that he is.

Cunt.