Google April Fools' Day 2008

// April 1st, 2008 // Sites, Uncategorized, Useful&Interesting Discusions

Today is the big day. It is 1st of April and as in previous years, Google made a Fools day Joke. Well…it actually made more…a lot more. Want to know what they are? Continue reading this article and you will find out.

1. For every user google made a partnership with Virgin and made VirGle. Virgle is a project that will send humans on mars to start a colony there? (sounds familiar? 2004 Google Lunar rings any bells?). It turned out to be just another hoax. If you go to the FAQ page, the last question is like this:

Okay, come on — seriously. Is this Virgle thing for real?

What, you doubt us? Well, yes — Virgle is real.

Notice the links?

For more information visit: http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html


2. Google and Orkut displays its name as Yougrt

3. Google also announced gDay, a special technology that will let you search pages BEFORE they are created. Google also launched a press release with this to make it even more plausible: http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/gday/press.html

4. Gmail Custom time. In gmail user have the possibility to allow its users to “pre-date” their messages and choose to have the message appear as “read” or “unread”. even the interface has a new option now to make it a really good hoax.

5. Google added the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button to its calendar feature. When you tried to create a new event, you were given the regular option of entering the correct details and hitting “Create Event,” and also the new option of “I’m Feeling Lucky” which would set you up with an evening date with celebrities. To bad it isn’t real.


6. Google launched their “Wake Up Kit” as a calendar notification option. The option sends a series of increasingly aggressive alerts, starting with an SMS message to your cellphone, and ending with a bucket of water dumped into your bed, which would then flip over, tossing you out (all using apparently-free equipment).

7. In google Docs a little easter egg was added, where a user can click the file menu and directly under new document is “New Airplane” which immediately opens a copy of a Google branded paper airplane. To reach the file menu, click the new menu, then “Document” then a new window opens.

8. For Adsense users google anounced Adsense for conversations. Here google will display ads in a screen on top of your head when you have a conversation with others. :) )

for more info: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2008/04/introducing-adsense-for-conversations.html


9. Google launches Manpower Search (??????) in China (google.cn). This new feature is powered by 25 million volunteers who do the searching around the clock. When the user entered a keyword, volunteers will search any possible answers from a mass of paper documents as well as online resources. The user is expected to get the search result within 32 seconds.

10. Google Books has a new section allowing users to ’scratch and sniff’ certain books. Users are asked to “…please place your nose near the monitor and click ‘Go’” which then ‘loads odours’. When clicking on ‘Help’ users are redirected to a Google Book page entitled “Belgravia: A London Magazine”

So that is about all. Make sure you check them all out. I guarantee you will have a good laugh.

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