Google Fools Day!

It comes as no surprise that Google – as one of the world’s leading internet companies – is also the one with the biggest sense of humor when it comes to practical jokes.

Last year on the 1st of April, Google blew the world away when they announced a print service that allowed Gmail users to print out their emails and have them delivered to a physical home address, complete with a Gmail-stickered cardboard box!
Needless to say, the next day everyone realized the joke was on them when Google pointed it out.

And thus history repeats itself again; and I almost instinctively knew Google is up to no good again this year.

So I go to the Google homepage and guess what I find:

Google Chrome in 3D

Yup, you read that right; apparently this time Google wants us to believe there is actually a version of their popular browser that let us see stuff in 3D!
The page actually features a special version of Chrome with 3D along with steps to follow to get the perfect 3D view.

And get this; the site comes complete with a PDF document with a picture of 3D glasses you should print, cut out and wear!!!

I doubt if the site (or at least the link) will stay for long, so here’s a couple of screenshots from the site and the 3D glasses:












Given the amount of following Google has, I'm sure there's lots of downloads of this already; but I really wonder how many people are gonna fall for it this time!!

13 comments:

Darshan Chande said...

I love this about Google. Every time they come up with some awesomely novel idea. The most impressive and real sounding was, of course, Gmail's print service!!

But I wonder now that we guys know this about Google we are obviously to know it being a prank when Google announces something weird around the Fool's day..

Anyway, I love Google!

Aersh said...

evrytym google can't fool us wid sum prank or the other. i checked the link too but i don't get as to what's there in it to fool someone about?? i don get it at all

and i've put up a new story in my blog. do check dat one out

-=A.R.N.=- said...

@Darshan
Yeah, the print service gag was tops!!

And regarding the fact that they might make a serious announcement one day which no one will believe, I guess this already happened to a chocolate manufacturer a few years ago when they gave away free chocolate to passengers at an airport...and no one wanted to eat it.
:D

-=A.R.N.=- said...

@Aersh

I wonder too; but I guess it would be interesting to know how many clicks that site had today...and how many people were fooled.

And like Darshan said, one of these days Google would make a real announcement on 01Apr which on one's gonna believe.

Sheeraz Ahamed Khateeb said...

How can it happen??? I mean i missed to see google page on 1st of April on both years.. :(

Anonymous said...

oh so that glass enables a 3D view? does it?

-=A.R.N.=- said...

@Sheeraz
Yeah, I missed it last year too...that's why I wanted to make sure I got it this time.

@pink
The glass was the lamest part of the joke...the part that gave it away.
They put in good effort into Chrome as well; developing that "Enable 3D" button which phase-shifted the red and blue channels of all pictures on a web page and make it look like it should be seen with 3D glasses!!!

Quite a lot of effort for an April's Day joke

Dhanya said...

Yeah, those glasses look tacky. Plus, the picture of the people using them look kinda funny too!

-=A.R.N.=- said...

@Dhanya
I guess in a way, that was the point of the ad: something so obvious couldn't actually work right?
Besides, its not a movie screen...mostly a bunch of people don't sit together to look at one computer.
:)

RukmaniRam said...

i expected much better of google. and them announcing stuff at 11.59pm on march 31 is abso pointless

-=A.R.N.=- said...

@Rukmani
Hmm, maybe pointless but being the leader that Google is (c'mon, they are the only company in the world to map the entire planet), nothing is off-limits for them

AMIT said...

Oh it was a April Fool day.

Boise real estate

-=A.R.N.=- said...

@Amit

Yup.
And btw, what's with that link you always put dude?