2005's Best Geeky April Fool's Hoaxes

It's April Fool's Day once again, a holiday that geeks like myself enjoy at least as much as any holiday featuring jolly, obese, gift-bearing men in red suits. Here's my brief salute to several of the best geeky April Fool's hoaxes this year.

Bold New Communications Medium: Opera Software (makers of the popular alternative Web browser) announced today that they've developed an innovative new peer-to-peer communications system they're calling Opera Soundwave. A press release on Opera's site describes the new tool as "a platform-independent speech solution for short- and medium-range interpersonal communication."

Yes, they're talking about, well, talking. The release says the 'technology' behind Soundwave was "accidently discovered during an R&D study to speech-enable Opera's e-mail client. One of Opera's desktop developers needed to find an alternative way to relay a message to his colleague at a time when the e-mail server was down, and was startled to notice that his verbal outcry was intercepted and understood immediately." Nice. Nothing is mentioned about security exploits, such as when people use Soundwave to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre or cry "wolf."

Shopping For Geeky Toys: If you're a serious geek, you already know about the online catalog at Thinkgeek, where you can buy toys and gadgets designed to appeal to the technically-minded. This morning, however, the store is offering a series of bogus products. (The store does this annually; Be sure to check out their selection of previous April Fool's products as well.)

Among the new trinkets available, you'll find the Fundue, a fondue set that's powered by a USB port (and which, like many USB gadgets, is lit from within by a blue LED); the SkyTag Green Laser Aircraft Tracker, designed to let you "track and tag aircraft at your own convenience"; and, my personal favorite, the Executive Pong Set, which features "a DLP Multi-LED projector, an OLED touchscreen dislay, and a pair of bluetooth wireless paddles that will allow you to play the original game of PONG anywhere you can find a flat surface. In style. It's the most blinged out PONG console humankind will ever create."

Ohh. baby. Just for once, let it be true.