Microsoft introduces next generation portable toilet

[CareBear]

The iLoo
From the outside, the iLoo is little different from other portable toilets. But inside, Microsoft serves up accoutrements that might rival some iLoo users' home PC setups. A Windows XP-powered computer resides under the sink with connection to 6-channel surround audio. A flat-screen plasma display swivels out from the side of the cabin, and a waterproof wireless keyboard can be placed on the lap for comfort.

The iLoo is equipped with 802.11b wireless networking for providing broadband Internet access. The toilet uses vacuum suction to dispose of waste.

I don't think I'd even want to touch the keyboard after it's been on a few hundred people's lap :nervous:

 

[Robert]

I can see the headlines now


"Robbers steal a John and leave the poop behind"

 

[Fuzzylogic]

image trying to hack one of those, not a pretty site lol. btw is this some kind of joke, alot like the itoliet joke webpage a while back.

 

[Wojtek]

It is a joke

goes to news.com.com and msn.com.com
probably subdomain of com.com, heh

I'm too lazy to verify.
Browsing the net from a deamcast is a real pain in the ---.

 

[EpidemiK]

Yep .. it's a joke. That'd be awesome though.

 

[CareBear]

com.com is Cnet.. they provide a lot of MSN's content.
Here's a Microsoft press release about the "iLoo" for all the sceptical ones
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/press/content/presscentre/releases/2003/05/PR03049.asp

 

[Wojtek]

This is gay...

 

[trenzterra]

iLoo an april fools joke

although its a little too late...

Microsoft has confirmed this.

And I want to express in this thread that i KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG.

Microsoft hasn't been even dumber (with the exception of Windows ME) to have such a stupid idea.

Imagine everyone in the toilet using the computer in there for free.

Toilets do not have a power socket.

Lastly, Steve Jobs will sue M$ for using 'i' in front of the name

 

[is0lized]

Yeah, that was a little too late on their part, or maybe the news site didn't get ahold of it for awhile.

It was on jay leno, so good april fools

 

[is0lized]

Why the thread merge? IMO a move to the right forum would of been fine..

 

[CareBear]

I wouldn't put it past them though
Little off to make an april fools joke in the start of may though :confused2

 

[notnamed]

What can you say? It's a little off to call it an iLoo too...

 

[HostUltra]

Looks like a nice place to hack from
no one can see what your doing

 

[awayfromforum]

Originally posted by HostUltra
Looks like a nice place to hack from
no one can see what your doing

Nobody would want to see what you were doing as well.

Imagine someone going in there and looking at porn ....

 

[Koolguy]

hehe, stupid microsoft

 

[is0lized]

Did anyone hear it was a joke?

 

[CareBear]

Originally posted by is0lized
Did anyone hear it was a joke?

We know
I think they should go through with it now though.. or pull whatever Bill Gates uses as a "loo" from his house, I'm sure it's not too different from that sketch

 

[CareBear]

Looks like even Microsoft doesn't know whether it was real or a hoax

Microsoft reversed its position for the second time in 24 hours Tuesday over whether it had ever planned to launch a portable toilet with a built-in Internet terminal in Britain this summer.

On Monday, the world's largest software maker had said the "iLoo," which was described in minute detail in an April 30 press release by its British subsidiary, was a hoax and apologized for any "confusion or offense."

But Microsoft switched its story Tuesday and said that the iLoo had been a legitimate project by its British MSN Internet service that was terminated after the initial announcement prompted controversy, ridicule and disgust

 

[is0lized]

Hah

 

[trenzterra]

Originally posted by CareBear
Looks like even Microsoft doesn't know whether it was real or a hoax

yeah found it on Neowins.

Microsoft changes story, says iLoo not a hoax
Posted by NTUsEr on 15 May 2003 - 20:34 CET | 19 Comments

What's true with the iLoo? Microsoft and its public relations firm have changed their story — again — about whether its United Kingdom division had been developing an Internet-enabled portable toilet.

On Monday, three representatives for the Redmond software giant told news agencies, including The Associated Press, that an April 30 news release trumpeting the "iLoo" was a hoax and apologized for "any confusion or offense" for the joke. But on Tuesday, the company reversed itself, saying the iLoo had been real — only it's now been killed.

"We jumped the gun basically yesterday in confirming that it was a hoax and in fact it was not," said Lisa Gurry, MSN group product manager. "Definitely we're going to be taking a good look at our communication processes internally." It's a public relations embarrassment for a company that's famous for micromanaging news releases, interviews and promotional events. "It's definitely not how we like to do PR at Microsoft," Gurry said. The iLoo was described as a portable toilet equipped with a wireless keyboard and a height-adjustable plasma screen with high-speed Internet access. Microsoft's MSN division was "in the process of converting a portable loo to create a unique experience" in time for the summer festival season, according to the release.

Several news organizations carried reports of the iLoo project, including The Associated Press. An AP reporter specifically asked whether the reported project was a hoax, and received assurances last week from Microsoft, its PR firm, Portland, Ore.-based Waggener Edstrom, and another PR firm in London, Red Consultancy, that the project was real.



--
so their april fools joke was an april fool?