Google Unveils 'Gmail Motion'

Group turns April Fools' joke into working technology

(NEWSER) - Days after it was announced, Google’s April Fools' joke has become reality. Last week the company unveiled "Gmail Motion," a fake service that would allow you to compose an email using a webcam and some pretty kooky gestures (like pretending to lick a stamp to send said email). Now, the techies at the Institute of Creative Technologies have used a Microsoft Kinect motion sensor to bring Gmail Motion to life, calling the service SLOOW: Software Library Optimizing Obligatory Waving, Mashable reports. Check out the video at left. More»

Big Ben going digital? Switzerland harvesting spaghetti?

(NEWSER) - As you prepare whatever April Fools' Day prank you have in mind for your loved ones, take a look back at 12 classic jokes, courtesy of the Daily Beast :

• Swiss spaghetti harvest: In 1957, the BBC aired a serious-sounding report on Switzerland’s bumper crop of pasta; hundreds fell for it and wanted to grow their own.
• Sidd Finch: In 1985, George Plimpton dreamed up a “part yogi” pitcher who could throw a 168mph fastball, then featured him in Sports Illustrated.
• Alabama changes Pi: A 1998 article claimed the state legislature changed the value from 3.14 to 3, because its “traditional Biblical value” is 3.
• The Whopper for lefties: Burger King announced in 1998 it was releasing left-handed Whoppers—the same sandwich, with the condiments rotated 180 degrees.
• MentalPlex: Google’s first annual hoax, in 2000, claimed to let users telepathically project searches instead of typing them in.

Proclaims it a 'different kind of name for a different kind of company'

(NEWSER) - Google was so moved when Topeka, Kansas, changed its name to Google, that as of today, the company has changed its name to Topeka. “We didn’t reach this decision lightly,” writes Eric Schmidt on the official Topeka blog . “We had a fair amount of brand equity tied up in our old name.” But they felt a lot of kinship with the city, and decided to press forward despite the consequences. Consequences like these: More»

Search engine pranks users with email time machine, mission to Mars

(NEWSER) - Google continued a time-honored tradition of April Fools’ Day pranks today with foolish new email features and a mission to Mars, cNet reports. Gmail users found a new feature, “Custom Time,” which would allow emails to be sent back in time. And not to worry in case of problems, the site said—an “e-flux capacitor is on hand to resolve issues of causality.” More»

And Forbes.com did not find one of them funny

(NEWSER) - One of yesterday's April Fools' Day pranks apparently fooled a few too many people: A Forbes contributor posted a blog on Forbes.com claiming that Mitt Romney had dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Rick Santorum. Despite the fact that editors took it down after just half an hour, the news quickly went viral on Twitter and was, for a short time, the No. 1 story on Google News. The uproar is "kind of baffling," contributor Len Burman tells the Washington Post . "It was April Fools’ Day, and it was completely implausible. Nobody in the party would have said those things." More»