It's April Fools' Day! The day where people get to release the diabolical pranks they've been planning for weeks against their friends, family, coworkers and, of course, customers.
That's right! Many companies, especially those in the tech industry, have been getting into the holiday spirit too by advertising fake products or drastic company changes to their loyal customers.
Social media, as always, played a big role in spotlighting all the great pranks this year, but we at The DSM Group have selected the top five best of this year. Enjoy!
5. The Freedom Bay
Many users and affiliates of The Pirate Bay have been very upset with their move to North Korea. In response to complaints, The Pirate Bay has decided to leave North Korea and move their servers to the United States of America. Now millions of American can illegally download software in the safety of their own country. In order not to cause too much legal trouble, they changed their name from "Pirate" to The Freedom Bay.
4. Sony Animalia Line
Sony announces their new line of tech products specifically designed for household pets. The new line includes a sound system for hamsters when working out, headphones for cats and a mini home theatre for lap dogs. The best part about the home theatre is it uses blue and yellow display and a 54.2 surrond sound system (beyond the limits of human hearing) so only dogs can hear what's being played.
So before you buy your shih tzu it's own TV, make sure you trust him/her enough not to play R-rated movies.
Sony Introduces Animalia Line of Tech Products for Pets
3. Twittr
Can I buy a vowel?
Starting today, Twitter is splitting its site into two service: Basic and Premium. The Basic service provides all the same functions as Premium except it restricts the use of vowels. If you want to use vowels for your tweets and comments, you'll have to switch to Premium subscription for $5 a month. But don't worry, it's not because Twitter wants more money; they're doing this for you! They believe eliminating vowels will, "encourage a more efficient and 'dense' form of communication."
2. Gmail Blue
For 6 years, Google has been developing a new format for the current Gmail service that would revolutionize the industry. Today, all their hard work finally pays off with Google's announcement of their new e-mail service, Gmail Blue.
The new format makes all of Gmail appearances the color blue, plain and simple. This includes text boxes, backgrounds, the "Help" menu and even the font. Everything is blue! Google has had an exciting week so far, with the introduction of new applications like Treasure Mode for Google Maps, +emotion for Google Plus, Google Schmick, and much more (all in one day). However, the greatest breakthrough is undoubtedly Gmail Blue.
1. YouTube Shuts Down
It's been an incredible ride so far, and that ride is almost over. In 2005, YouTube started up a contest with the sole purpose of finding the best video in the world and they announced that today, the contest will come to a close.
At midnight tonight, YouTube will shut down. It's been an incredible ride, but the video-sharing giant has decided that ride is over. That's right, as of midnight tonight, no more videos will be allowed to be submitted or viewed on the site.
In 2005, YouTube had started a contest to find the best video in the world, and eight years later they've decided to end the contest. Fear not though, in 2023 the site will reopen and will only play the winning video of the Youtube contest. The staff of YouTube recommend people watch as many videos as they can today because they will never get another chance after the site shuts down completely.
YouTube's Ready to Select a Winner
There were many other funny and clever jokes that captured the April Fools' spirit, but we at The DSM Group think these five deserve their ranks at the top of the class for this year's prank-a-thon.