MS iLoo an unoriginal hoax (was Re: [Linux-aus] Follow Up on NOIE thread from a few weeks back....)

[Chris Samuel]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

On Friday 16 May 2003 5:09 pm, Andrew Cowie wrote:
> [What on earth were they thinking: Portable Internet Enabled Toilets? Is
> that so like you can log on while, er, laying a log? If you don't know
> what I'm talking about, see

http://www.web-user.co.uk/news/?mod_article_id={14909A49-E9CF-407E-BE67-EBAD678A8B4C}&mod_article_show_only=

[start quote]

But according to US news sources, Microsoft US has apologised for the joke and 
said it was an April Fool's gag circulated by their UK counterparts. 
Presumably the company forgot this was on 1 April and not 30 April when the 
press release was issued.

A spokeswoman for Microsoft told US news channel CBS News: "This iLoo release 
came out of the UK office and was not a Microsoft sanctioned communication 
and we apologise for any confusion or offence it may have caused."

There's also further embarrassment for MSN. According to the Inquirer website, 
British inventor Andrew Cubitt claims he designed and made an internet toilet 
two years ago, which made an appearance at the Ideal Home Show.

[end quote]

To see Andrew's invention, which printed onto toilet paper (about right for 
some websites out there!), see:

	http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9442

and the webpage for it at the UK Ideal Home Show 2003:

	http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/content/attractions/content.asp?location=32

No details about what OS it used though.. :-)

I still prefer the Internet Chopping Board:

	http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/content/attractions/content.asp?location=26

(These are not late April Fools)
- -- 
 Chris Samuel  :  http://csamuel.org/  :  Melbourne, VIC

 Need someone with 10 years of Linux, Unix, Networking
   & IT Security skills in Melbourne, VIC ? Email me.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux)

iQEVAwUBPsSXyo1yjaOTJg85AQEKnwf/acQMXu5ODyVEkTNxDkd4RI+uPCq4SylS
MrCIs8DkZMzwOGZGNGEHorSvuXTDanmOQJ/bn2PIcBfhKxtCYYVfqje2V9QX6/q4
BpdHnCHHRqh5DF8eOi7PzWqbfdp2cS/jRa8Lz+PO2gOTI9nA9EBc9qCB+5Lz29/T
iJNW7pwDUjXb+ua2n/vG69VgRcymgrcHfyuqc6YXTlCl5/MVdwRMdKR5LOMIy/eb
3K5yDmb5+ufiUDnBOPxMnLAI2oGbSqgE7uImJaqnIPVXYOWT6GK4NI7GNTKHBnop
aeORhB41OR+1Ht1BmYbXqz2Tfl7zCbc2deQ8uzuYdLUGufN47yLWfA==
=kSye
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----