april fool's

Google does April Fools': 'Custom time' and a Mars trip

Happy April Fools' Day!

As expected, Google's Gmail rolled out a fake "custom time" feature, which purports to let users send e-mails into the past and consequently never miss important deadlines again. The new feature "utilizes an e-flux capacitor to resolve issues of causality," Google wrote.

"I just got two tickets to Radiohead by being the 'first' to respond to a co-worker's 'first-come, first-serve' email," a fake testimonial on the Custom Time site read. "Someone else had already won them, but I told everyone to check their inboxes again. Everyone sort … Read more

Live, from New York, it's...Mark Zuckerberg?

In a surprise move that has shocked Silicon Valley, young Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will guest host an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live, according to multiple sources.

The mild-mannered Zuckerberg, best-known for vanilla-flavored speeches filled with talking points about "the social graph" and "making communication more efficient," will provide the opening monologue as well as appear in a number of sketches on the NBC show's April 5 episode.

Appearing on the sketch comedy show is something Zuckerberg has wanted to do for a long time, a close friend confided to CNET News.com. "… Read more

Google's April Fools' joke: Gmail Custom Time?

UPDATE 4:10 a.m. PDT April 1: It's up! Check out Gmail custom time to see how Google uses an "e-flux capacitor to resolve issues of causality."

It looks like we are getting a preview of Google's April Fools' joke for Gmail a little early. Google put the link in the screenshot above on everyone's Gmail page. As of right now, the link only takes you to a 404 error screen, but presumably Google will post its joke in the near future.

It seems strange that Google would push a dead link to all … Read more

No April Fools'--Storm worm is back

Don't click on that silly April Fools' Day e-mail, says one security expert.

In a blog, Arbor Networks' Jose Nazario reports that within the last 24 hours he's seeing new releases of the Storm worm designed to take advantage of the first day of April. This new spam campaign is a lure to infect new computers that will become part of the larger Storm worm botnet.

The e-mail body is spartan: the words "Doh! April Fools" followed by a numeric URL. If a user clicks on that URL, the default Internet browser will open to a … Read more

Don't let your office nemesis see this

We almost didn't post this item because we wanted to keep it a secret from our co-workers. That way we could use it on them every day between now and April 1.

The "Phantom Keystroker" is the ultimate prank for office sadist, a devious little device that's sure to make any cubicle dweller go postal (not that it takes much). Once discreetly plugged into an unsuspecting colleague's USB port, it will randomly move the cursor around and type in dummy text whenver it feels like it, Gizmodo says.

Unfortunately it can't be controlled remotely. … Read more

Microsoft, Oldsmobile team up on new Vista Cruiser

After dipping its toe in the MP3 player waters with the Zune, Microsoft now has its sights set on getting really mobile.

The tech giant is teaming up with Oldsmobile to bring back the Vista Cruiser. This time, Oldsmobile's classic station wagon won't just run on gas; it'll also be powered by Windows Vista.

"Including the door locks, the in-car entertainment, the automatic seats...you name it," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "It all runs on Vista."

CNET Car Tech editors Wayne Cunningham and Kevin Massy have taken the new Vista Cruiser for … Read more

Apple: iPhone won't be cordless

In a controversial move Apple claims will "turn the mobile arena upside-down," the company announced today that the iPhone will not be cordless.

The iCord, which users will need to make calls on the Apple iPhone, will be sold exclusively through Apple. Starting in June, the iCord will be available in Snow Leopard White in lengths of 20 ft. ($200), 70 ft. ($400), and the high-end, 150 ft. iCord Pro ($700).

To announce the iCord line, the normal Apple.com homepage was replaced with a graphic that read, "The phone? Reinvented. The cord? That too."

Upon … Read more

Obnoxious luxury liner touts 'unsinkable' features, on-board spa

OK, this "fancy boat" trend is getting really out of hand. First there was that snotty Lusitania, and now this total abomination from the White Star Line. Called the R.M.S. Titanic, it tips the scales at 46,380 tons and is almost 900 feet long. Needless to say, it doesn't go too fast: just over 26 mi/hr. Chuck Norris could probably outswim that thing. It's also being hailed as "unsinkable" thanks to a convoluted design with all these wacky airtight compartments and electromagnetic switches.

Plus, this ugly seagoing behemoth is loaded … Read more

These pictures stink

You've seen pictures that lie, musical picture frames and cameras that help you fake it. But did you ever think we would finally get to the scratch and sniff stage?

The EasySmell PU 705 digital camera, announced on Saturday at a press event in Tokyo, will offer seven distinct scent modes.

It's based on the same type of technology that scientists pondered for the in-house smell-o-vision at a Japanese movie theater.

The scent modes include "cheese," "chocolate," "beach," "floral," "cocktail party," "rain" or "diesel" (… Read more

Going ga-ga with UltraSoundd

We just got the word on a new social network called UltraSoundd. It's aimed at unborn children who want to blog their lives and post pictures and videos of their dwelling space to share with friends. Other social networks have similar efforts, but with their parents managing the profile and posting updates. Ultrasoundd lets the kid do all the work. The site just secured a $2 million round of Series A funding from Gerber's parent company Novartis.

To set up an Ultrasoundd account, parents need simply register with the site and download a small, 130KB Java application to … Read more