Tech companies play April Fool's Day pranks
Ah yes, it's that time of year again, April Fool's Day, when the Internet gets its funny bone and is filled with viral pranks from tech companies. Some are more successful than others. For instance, Google struck out with its Send+Mic Drop prank, a "joke" Gmail add-on that immediately drew the ire of users.
Other pranks and fake gimmicks out there have been better received. Here are just a few of the ways the tech world has been celebrating April Fool's.
Lyft pranks on-demand
Popular car service Lyft now delivers pranks on-demand. Lyft is offering Prank Mode to users in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. From 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday, the company is giving customers the chance to use TargetFind to choose a friend to prank. They have to be close by and willing to jump in a car with you, though.
You request your prank through the app, your driver will confirm, and during your ride, you sit back, relax and watch the prank unfold.
The cost of the prank is free.
Mark Zuckerberg turns fashion star
By now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's unofficial work uniform is instantly recognizable -- the simple grey t-shirt and the blue jeans. On Friday, retailer H&M announced "Mark Zuckerberg x H&M," a line of the tech executive's minimalist signature look.
The clothing company went so far as to create a website for the line, offering the "collection pack," which consists of "seven basic grey t-shirts" and "one pair of basic jeans."
"H&M is proud to announce a new long-term partnership with internet entrepreneur, philanthropist, CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook -- Mark Zuckerberg. To celebrate the collaboration of Mark Zuckerberg and H&M, we launch a limited capsule collection of re-issued iconic pieces from H&M basics," a statement on the site reads. "This new gender-neutral minimalistic range was inspired by Mark's beliefs that making even the easiest decisions (like what to wear or what to eat for breakfast) consumes mental energy and gets in the way of doing more important things. That's why we named this collection 'One less thing to think about in a morning.'"
Ever on brand, H&M said that the line would be available starting May 1 in about 250 stores worldwide and online. If you wanted to look like a social media entrepreneur, here's your chance.
A very immersive VR experience
Everyone is saying virtual reality is the wave of the future, and ThinkGeek has taken that technology a step further. Welcome the VR Sensory Immersion Generator, which is meant to complement the highly touted launch of the Oculus Rift.
"Our new Oculus Rift headsets are treating our eyes and ears to new worlds this week. We're experiencing some of our favorite games in new immersive ways," ThinkGeek wrote on its homepage. "But after a few hours of playing, we realized some of our other senses were feeling left out. Touch, for instance. And smell. And even taste."
Yes, this hypothetical device puts the reality in virtual reality. If an owl flies at you in a virtual reality video game, a feather will shoot out of the device to tickle you. If you get hit in the face, well, expect a small red boxing glove straight out of "Looney Toons" to give you a little punch.
Learn a new language while you sleep
Planning a summer trip to a foreign country but don't have time to learn a new language? Well, Duolingo has you covered with a new smart pillow that can teach you a new language with just one night's sleep.
The Duolingo Pillow apparently "activates proprietary sleep learning algorithms as users slumber," according to a faux press release.
"We are proud to to have enabled 120 million people to learn a language in just five minutes every day with Duolingo ... but then it struck me: What if we could bring that number down to zero minutes a day?" Duolingo CEO and confounder Luis von Ahn said in the release.
The polyglot-friendly pillow is listed at a retail price of $99 and the company said that it will help you learn Spanish, French, or Italian.
Google helps you find your socks
Not all Google pranks were poorly received. This April Fool's Day, Google is helping users in Australia find their socks. Yes, this is something that most of us who lose socks in the laundry could all get behind.
"We're teaming up with retailers across Australia to launch a new range of Searchable Socks -- to organize the world's undergarments and make them universally findable," reads a blog post from an executive whose name matches her job title -- Paula Legg, searchable socks product manager, Google Australia and New Zealand.
The socks are bluetooth-enabled and are fitted with thin LTE beacons that "wrap around the top of your lower calf, just like the colored stripes you'd see on traditional socks."
Those who can't find one sock in a pair just have to press the beacon and use the Google Search app to find the other sock's locale. If only this was a real feature.
