Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft's iLoo Project A Hoax
minesweeper writes "It appears that the 'iLoo,' a portable toilet with Internet access designed by Microsoft, was actually just a hoax issued by its MSN division in the United Kingdom. In addition to receiving press here on Slashdot, the fake release was also covered by The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Reuters. See a diagram of the iLoo here."
...as I said at the time. Boom, boom!
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
did anyone really believe that?
I'd never have guessed /sarcasm
I'm not Seth.
and if you were unfortunate enough to have fallen for it, your picture and whatever it was you did in there will soon be posted on the internet for the world to see. Trusted computing my arse
this sig steers like a cow. and i can prove it
unfortunately.. it turns out Longhorn wasn't a hoax. :(
At the risk of a few karma points...
seriously, a porta-potty with internet access? Come on. It was one of those things that's just too ridiculous to believe from the start.
http://www.walkingtaco.com
An April fool that's wayyy late.
sooo, not only do microsoft talk shit, they talk shit about making things that deal with shit, which end up being as useful as shit, because, in the end, its all shit... :-)
They even say it to our faces "Your stupid, you believe everything we say, we can tell you this, and you'll still buy our OS for a hugely overpriced cost!". Well I guess at least the UK division has a sense of humor.
I love you cowboy neal! Come back!
I'm sure when they find out the name of the guy responsible for the hoax, his job will be flushed...
In Soviet Rush, today's Tom Sawyer gets high on you.
Does that mean the iLoo has gone down the toilet?
Yeah, I thought the 6 channel surround sound was bit much.
Co-founder and designer at Music Nearby: http://musicnearby.com
Yeah, no shit.
but... I thought reality was supposed to be stranger than fiction.
So what are the chances MicroSoft thought this was a legit idea upon releasing the concept, only to backpedal and say it was a "joke" a few days later? Seems like and odd joke to me...
a poop dream....
Siggy Say, Siggy Do
..a /. commercial was a hoax? Damn.. and I thought they earn money for subtle commercials here..
take a 3-flusher. All of a sudden, BSOD. The bowl
is full. You need to flush, but the flush control is a
mouse click and you can't reboot (that's locked out
by their new DRM controls so only the janitor
can reboot). Stranded
Or, could you imagine the germs on the mouse or
trackpad. Or you were in New York where no one
washes their hands. Or porn....
click here (don't be afraid, it's not one of those links that are on-topic to this story in their own special way...)
No shit, sherlock...
Although having a Portable PC in a Porta-potty doesn't make much sense, it seems like a somewhat good idea in a permament environment.
I mean realistically your going to be sitting down anyway and since your basicially a captive audience you might as well read up on the news or sports while your there. It's better than reading the writing on the wall.
Of course a paper would be just as good, but something like this built into a wall would be more up to date. It doesn't really need to be interactive either. just run headlines, Sport Scores and Stock Market tickers.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
Microsoft really needs to get its shit together on PR.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
I was hoping to see Steve Ballmer jumping around some stage yelling 'Plumbers! Plumbers! Plumbers! Plumbers!'
The Open Source communities efforts to build a better shitter?
... after they realized everyone was making fun of their iLoo. So they just pulled it back.
... This is very much a 'toe in the water' experiment to gauge interest so we'll have to see how it goes, although judging from response so far it's really captured people's imagination!"
From the article:
In an e-mail sent last week to The Associated Press, Red Consultancy's Ben Philipson wrote "MSN is really working on building a prototype for the Summer festivals, perhaps Glastonbury
Malina Bragg, who helps with MSN's account for Waggener Edstrom, also verified last week that the project was true.
Keep open minded - but not that open your brain falls out...
This was on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me last week. NPR got something wrong, now all my illusions are shattered. Next thing you know, it'll turn out that Click and Clack don't know exactly what's wrong with my car.
Erik
YOU ARE SAYING IMPUDENCE TO ME! THAT IS IMPUDENCE!
Yeah, the reaction of everyone laughing at it forced them to look for a way to back out of it. They're calling it a hoax after gettig a little free market research!
There seems to be some kind of coincednce here, XP in a portajohn.
If we don't make light of everything, we are just stumbling in the dark - Blank
I was starting to worry about getting a BSoD while trying to download my brownware.
And don't even get me started about the built in DRM system to handle the secure "door locking" functionality and toilette paper access restrictions.
Since when did Microsoft start making stuff named in British English? Good hoax, though.
Stop the brainwash
Why would they want us to associate Microsoft and a toilet? Things that make you go "hmmm...."
stuff |
..that slashdot commercial was a hoax? ohh.. so they won't get money from M$ now?
you just can't guess what those little scamps will be up to next. What a sense of humor!
"due to be unveiled this summer"
Since when has Micro$oft ever delivered a product in under 5 years ?
It was obviously a hoax, just like Longhorn,
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
This whole thing stinks, they knew it, and they wanted to wash their hands of the matter. Who wouldn't after the smear job it recieved. Talk about being caught with your pants down!
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
i wonder if this was inspired by the Apple iToilet
Giving IE users a taste of their own medicine since 2005 - http://pods.-is-a-geek.net/
Ish*t, is not active atm, but you can check out his setup, to let people flush his toilet from a browser ;) ;)
:P
Here you can read a comparison of the internet and a toilet...
Always amusing Onion, has an article on online sh*tting
Man, I gotta pull myself together and get some work done
Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
... a beowulf cluster of those.
No, seriously. Imagine that!
my
1. Make news about some shitty product.
2. Wait for all competitors to start similar projects.
3. Call the project a hoax.
4. Watch competitors go bankrupt.
5. ???
6. Profit!!!
getSexySig();
...turn on, tune in, drop out...
I guess this means I should cancel my GNUPoo project over at SourceForge.
I was looking forward to writing the W32/flusher.gen virus. I had all my plans in the works. Automatic flushing, and handwashing alarms....
MSN internet division in UK announces that the announcement from MSN Redmond was a hoax as well.
"This iLoo news which came out of the UK office was true and the project will go ahead as planned. It does not have to be Microsoft sanctioned communication and we apologize for any confusion or offense it may have caused."
A hoax? No way! I already bought my plane tickets and passes to ever music festival in the UK this summer just so I could check my email from an shit covered keyboard in an outhouse.
Damn...now what am I going to do?
BFL
There's one thing computing teaches you, and that's that there's no point to remembering everything.
--Doug Copland
The iJohnny. It'll be twice the price but it'll have a voice activated flush, and a ganja scented air-freshener.
[Insert bastardization of Ellen quote here]
Microsoft has been perpetrating hoaxes for ages. Look at their OS, for example.
Microsoft announces that .NET is actually a hoax. All things coded in .NET should disentegrate within hours.
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
Literally. Thought I could get away from 'puter. Nope. Have to hold it in. Evercrack won't let me leave the world.
After all, iLoo was already trademarked by Apple, the new toilet from Microsoft will be called Microsoft Shit 1.0.
hmmm, I was thinking about my new marketing project:
Frag While you crap
Never mind i will work on something else
My Aurora : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o91ZsGwJYyg
FB : https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
So the UK office puts out a funny-gram on 30 April and it takes the headquarters over 10 days to say it was a joke? This after the "release" was carried by everyone from /. to major news carriers? Sure, it was amusing but it was obviously being taken seriously by the press. They should have come out with the laugh and the "oh, hey - they were just kidding" memo a lot sooner.
Microsoft announced that its Trusted Computing initiative was a hoax.
"MSN is really working on building a prototype for the Summer festivals, perhaps Glastonbury ..."
The Glasonbury Festival could be the ultimate test for a wired toilet. Problem is most of the users would be too stoned to notice, and who in their right mind is going to spend any longer than needed in a Glasto portaloo to check their hotmail, (that is if it doesn't get nicked by the skallies).
This is how the Festival Organisers describe them...
"The 'long drop' toilets are open stalls positioned above a large pit - looking down is not advised! The stall gates often don't lock, so it's advised to look under the gate for feet before entering a stall. But don't be surprised if you then do find someone inside - squatting with feet on the seat is a popular way of avoiding skin contact."
Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated up.
(Believe it or not, I was pondering it on the loo/john just now, before heading back to my station. And yes, I washed my hands.)
I'd tend to view common-use keyboards in toilets the same as gas station restrooms. Do your business, but don't let any part of your body touch anything if you can help it.
But if your at home with a wi-fi and a portable laptop (with, say, a hamper to rest the laptop), then I consider it the 21st-Century equivalent of taking the newspaper in the morning.
Just, um, disinfect the keyboard after you're done.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
Here is the Google Cache for the iLoo.
How can your own company hoax itself?!?! This wasn't just some Onion article or fake email everyone sent out. It was a bloody press release! And it was NOT an April Fools Trick as it dates May 2nd.
Gee everybody was fooled into believing the iLoo was real because Microsoft issues a press release saying it was building the darn thing. Really pulled one over on us...
MAYBE the truth is that Microsoft recieved so much bad press over it that they decided to pull the iLoo and pretend it was a joke. If that is the case, aren't there regulations against such things?
BrianSince one of the DOC lawsuits that MS settle on had a clause about vapor ware does DOC now have the right to claim MS violated the settlement agreement?
Don't Tread on OpenSource
A hoax? Well suck me sideways! What's next? People did land on the moon?
Imagine the queues for the ladies iloo. That in itself would have defeated its inception. It's hard enough to get 'em out of the bathroom, but to give them internet access in there too!
Seriously, We pitty you if you believe everything Billy G. and Co says and does.
"Use the force...MAC force"
It's sad such a fine institution of news delivery was compromised as such
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
Is it only a hoax because it wasn't received as well as they had anticipated? Isn't this something that Microsoft does? Shit something out and see if it floats?
mbbac
does it linux runs?
I would have loved to hit CTRL-Alt-Suppr to flush down the toilets...
...would I have ever thought I would see /. ranked right up there with the big boys:
/. headlines. Hell, he might even stop bitching at me about wasting time reading all that geek drivel, now that he realizes he's been in good company all along.
In addition to receiving press here on Slashdot, the fake release was also covered by The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Reuters.
What prestige! I bet my boss wouldn't even notice if I swapped out his beloved Journal with a copy of today's
a beowulf custer...
Giving IE users a taste of their own medicine since 2005 - http://pods.-is-a-geek.net/
duh! as if it was real. imagine iLoos at woodstock 2k (whatever) they would have been the first thing the wanna be hippies torched.
be vigilant, be pure, behave
shit!
Bill Gates to world: "Y'all been ZAPPED"
A Hoax! NO SHIT!
What has Microsoft ever sold that ISN'T a hoax?
An internet station inside (tr) has already been implemented years ago. These guys can even fit a mainframe iside if they want to!
This time, SFgate is wrong. It's not a hoax. Read the article. It's a legitimate experiment to build a prototype for the Glastonbury festival. It's just that it got so much attention that an embarrassed Microsoft had to say that it wasn't officially sanctioned communication. This does not mean it's a hoax. The SFgate chose a poor headline, especially after the reporter verified that the project was true.
bp
a micro$oft project thats a joke..
where the novelty in that
S
Kingdom of Loathing (www.kingdomofloathing.com) Addicted is me
Sit down, log in, and log out.
If this had been on Mac Rumors, about Apple, most of the postings would have been in favor.
no shit??
...until you get a haemorrhoid from reading Slashdot at -1 for hours on end.
Add a whole new dimension to the $700 toilet seat, doesn't it?
Bet it's already got a milspec number and everything...
If this were easy, they wouldn't need us to do it!
So, right, obviously no one's sitting down to relax in a PortaPotty ... but there's a kind of interesting engineering problem here. How would you create a computer interface that didn't require physical contact -- since you obviously don't want your hands on the same keyboard as the last guy? Just to make it slightly more relavant, this could have application in hightech countries that have been hit by SARS, for example ...
I'm thinking it would have to be like a touch-screen, but with some type of sensor that knows how far away your finger is from the screen. 1-2 inches away moves the mouse, 1 inches is a click. It would be mostly for navigating, since typing would be a pain, so you would have to have a portal-type system that would give access to most of the information anyone would want. Of course you could also put a touchscreen-type keyboard underneath -- it would just be a pain to gesture at those buttons one by one.
So now I kind of want one of these. Does anyone know what sort of sensor could do this?
Ironically, in my native tounge which is Cebuano, one of the major dialects spoken here in the Philippines, "ILoo" actually means asswipe! It is pronounced "e-loo". Imagine the reaction of Filipinos if the product actually made it to the market. On the other hand, the product could turn into an instant hit here. People here associate "ILoo" with a old newspapers and banana leaves, I wonder what would be in their minds if going to the toilet means Windows and Internet Explorer!
Now without the iLoo where will I deposit my iPoo? I guess that's what I get for eating at iDonald's.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
It *could* be just P.R. damage control designed to counter how silly MS was looking. The CNN article I read indicated that the legitimacy of the toilet was attested to by several other MS staffers.
Who would think of trusting Microsoft with a device as important as the toilet? What would stop every script kiddie in the area from using your bathroom? How far from your computer does the toilet have to be in order to prevent Microsoft toilet viruses from reading your Outlook address book? How reliable would such a toilet be?
So you upgrade to the Palladium toilet, but now you can only go to the bathroom when Microsoft says it's OK.
Microsoft Flush 2003 offers very little improvment over Flush 2000, but you have to buy it because of "Potty Assurance (tm)." The new requirement of having each bathroom visitor sign the EULA looks annoying at first until you realize that the hardcopy EULAs are useful as toilet paper.
by Anonymous Coward
on Tuesday May 13, @07:09AM (#5943445)
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. said a company news release
that it was developing a portable toilet with Internet access, called
an ``iLoo,'' was a hoax perpetrated by its British division.
The
April 30 release, issued by the company's MSN Internet division in the
United Kingdom, said Microsoft was developing a portable toilet with a
wireless keyboard and an extending height-adjustable plasma screen in
front of the seat. The iLoo was to debut at festivals this summer in
Britain.
Advertisement
``This iLoo release came out of the UK
office and was not a Microsoft sanctioned communication and we
apologize for any confusion or offense it may have caused,'' Microsoft
spokeswoman Bridgitt Arnold said late Monday.
The fake release generated coverage by The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press and Reuters.
The
Associated Press received confirmation of the project from both
Microsoft Corp.'s Waggener Edstrom public relations firm and
London-based Red Consultancy, which handles such work for the software
giant in England.
In an e-mail sent last week to The Associated
Press, Red Consultancy's Ben Philipson wrote ``MSN is really working on
building a prototype for the Summer festivals, perhaps Glastonbury
This is very much a 'toe in the water' experiment to gauge interest so
we'll have to see how it goes, although judging from response so far
it's really captured people's imagination!''
Malina Bragg, who
helps with MSN's account for Waggener Edstrom, also verified last week
that the project was true (or false, or true, whatever fuddles says it
is).
------
^On the Net:
http://www.trustworthycomputing.com
[ Reply to This
]
...would be a catchier name.
MSN ZDNet even carried the story Here.
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
Some day Bill Gates will just come out and say: gotcha!
abetted by the corporations who stand to lose the most from the dilution of value of internet information, no less.
Maybe someone like google can come up with a signal-to-noise map of the internet, or rating for each particular meme, sort of like a weather map.
Syntax error: loose != lose, affect != effect, then!=than
From the article:
:)
"The April 30 release, issued by the company's MSN Internet division in the United Kingdom"
Looks like Microsoft are redefining the standards again - releasing April Fools jokes on the last day of April rather than the first. Why can't they just stick to the damned specs?
I knew it made no sense for them to build this. They already have several products that are appropriate to poop on.
They finally realised that the internet couldn't compete with a newspaper when someone has used all the toilet paper...
not that i can't take a good joke, but is their some legal precedence that would enable a person or entity to sue MSN UK? couldn't the media companies that took the time to research and publish (print, tv, internet media) this story could sue for lost revenue, lost wages, lost time, lost reputation (for printing a hoax? couldn't companies with analysts covering microsoft or the embedded devices market sue for lost revenue and lost time?
not that i would sue, but shouldn't their be some legal ramifications for this hoax? what if somebody could prove that MS stock price actually increased in the time directly after the announcement?
just my ramblings...
Why did I lurk so long before registering for a Slashdot account? I could have had a Slashdot ID of less than 100000.
As stated, the release came from Microsoft. If it's not true, well, where I come from, we call that a lie.
at least the famous monolithic beast now has a sense of humor.
/.ers would appreciate. I'm trying like the devil to get away from M$ OSes entirely but its high time that we at least give the devil his due and applaud when he does something good or funny or anything but evil.
this beats the normal cease and desisits they release to their paying customers on a regular basis. I would think this is something that
On behalf of the iLoo Anticipation Society, we all(5 members) would like to thank you personally for showing us the light and clarifying that the iLoo is a hoax. We can now abandon our fruitless hopes and dreams of an iLoo future and try to continue on, strengthened by Slashdot's resolve to get "the truth out there, at any cost!"
We're heartbroken, and a touch embarassed by having the proverbial wool pulled over our eyes, but we don't want to live a lie either.
Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!
As an employee at an investment firm I can say analysts weren't running wild with the idea that there would be a huge market niche for potty PCs and that everyone should dump their money into MSFT to get in on the Next Big Thing. Although maybe they should patent the design so no one else will make it.
Developers: We can use your help.
...doesn't it?
No shit?
Kinda like when DanQuayle used to get sent out to publicly spell potato/potatoe/tomato/tomatoe to take the heat off of Big Bush. Or when Monica showed off her stained dress to let the DMCA have a little breathing room.
Maybe somebody'll come up with disposable keyboard covers/membranes similar to the paper toilet seat covers that most public restrooms have right now.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
lost his/her job over this..
The real problem was converting "#1" and "#2" to "ones and zeroes."
Come on, when has MS ever hit a release date?
Every time. They hit them the same way most companies hit revenue targets. They keep resetting them until the guess matches the actual value. Then they declare victory and move on.
When I first saw the headlines for this I passed it off as a hoax immediatly.. every time I saw the headlines or someone e-mailed it to me I dismissed it as a joke.. I didn't even have to read the story..
:-P
Is the net making me cynical?? nah
"Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
I read some where that a guy already had the iLoo idea and MSN stole it from himt p://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9442
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9418
ht
No shit.
Just imagine the time wasted by the discussion about this hoax. Well ok, we know that Microsoft is a source for viruses, but that they now also begun to spread out hoaxes is a bit new.
Log-in.... LOG-out
"Times may change, but standards must remain the same." - George Carlin.
The man - they is always holdin me down! :P
Bill Gates rethinks his strategy: Introducing the Microsoft iUrinal Just For Men, (and women willing to experiment). Think
What will Americans call it when Scotland and Wales devolve (coming soon)? English English? toodle pip!
This would have been the first time Microsoft embraced their ability to turn out shit products like crazy.
I got nothin'.
Maybe this iLoo was created with the genuine intention of building such a product. But when it started to get press, the MSFT brass realised it was a 'stinky' idea. Why would MSFT UK just release something outrageous like this as a hoax? I think they didn't want to fess up and admit that they had a terrible idea so they just said it was a hoax.
I don't even understand why a company would create a hoax, but on top of that, why was it confirmed by an advertising company (that's doing the job for Microsoft) and another consulting firm? Perhaps you can enlighten me some.
This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Is this what they call, "the vapors"? M$ seems to have a really bad case of them. Others have said they are simply full of shit. Nothing new here, who really trusts what M$ says anymore?
I wish the Next Generation they talk about was an equally bad joke, but it's right in line with EULAs that force updates and demand the right to inspect all your files to remove those that might infringe on copyright. The only thing more Big Brother about Microsoft's direction would be to put their goofey computers everywhere, including the public toilet so that none of your thoughts would be missed. Oh dear, they just might.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Yet another one of microsofts good idea's down the drain...
Why do you think the market has been clogged with their shit for so long?
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
The minute I read this originally I thought how funny it would have been to wipe my own poop on the 'mouse' or whatever input device they would have used. After that, I would have wiped some poo on the screen. After that, I would have wiped poo all over the seat, and the walls. On the way out, I would have wiped poo on the MSN logo.
Too bad it's a hoax. I'll just go back to wiping poo on public pay-phone earpieces.
"There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people." --Muhammad Ali
Warez. Songs and movies you can't get easily, I understand. Windoze and windoze software? That's like storing shit. Sharing such stuff is like shitting in your neighbor's yard or pissing on the street. The effort is better spent making free software. Yes, my subject spells twat.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I saw an apple-toilet hoax a few months back, it had custom covers for the toilet seat. any remember that?
I thought Microsoft was finally being innovative!
Seriously, Don't take anything I say seriously.
Basically, the original story was just a load of crap!
An online Starcraft RPG? Only at
In Soviet Russia, all your us are belong to base!
Online Starcraft RPG? At
Dietary fiber is like asynchronous IO-- Non-blocking!
As the article states, the Associated press recieved confirmations that it was true from two of Microsoft's public relations agencies.
... there is no way they would have confirmed that unless they had microsoft corp's ok.
It is believable that maybe some engineers or lower management will plant a false story as a joke, but the public relation firms deal with top management only
It is much more likely that after realizing the whole thing just got turned into a bad joke in the media, Microsoft decided to pretend they never had anything to do with the whole project.
Crap, and I aalmost finished my LinuxLoo to compete.
Anyone remember the endless threads on sanitation/hygiene? Apparently a lof of you -were- taking it seriously.
You'll all saying "well, duh!" now, but the record speaks for itself...
...do not have a sence of humor!
Free speech is getting expensive...
They didn't mention the excellent coverage in Weekend Update on SNL.
If you were told that one of the statements below is a hoax:
Microsoft to release the iLoo Internet Toilet
and
Microsoft to release secure, stable operating system
which would YOU fall for?
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
If its a hoax, then what is THIS doing in their site...
/*Why is there a penguin on my desktop?!*/
The lunatic is in my head
Macerated vaporware.
Atomized scatalogical software coming to you in particle form.
Go, Mr. Softy!
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
went so bad that damage control stepped in with denial.
It's not the first time MS has done Market testing and decided not to do something tested.
Between this and other things, it should be clear as to how out of touch with reality MS is.
I think rather the project was cancelled and a cover story concocted when the shit hit the fan.
Why else was the 802.11a,b,g protocol ratified as a standard so quickly?
"Where you going with your laptop, Mike?"
"Wife made chilli last night. I may be a while."
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear to be bright. Until you hear them speak.
Mmm... perhaps the XBox was too much of an embarassment there?
A witty [sig] proves nothing. --Voltaire
Microsoft announced today that the iLoo web appliance was a hoax. It is expected that Microsoft is soon to also confirm that the 'Windows' operating system was a hoax as well, and was only a joke.
Maybe they were covering their butt? I could see them falling for an obivous hoax, pretending that they knew about this all along, and that they thought it was a good idea.
Then they also could have actully just thought the hoax was a good idea and decieded to claim it was true.
Besides, I do not have much trust and belive most of the claims by PR, marketing, and consultants.
Is iShit taken?
A Microsoft spokesperson is now claiming that it was "an April's Fools joke"
Leave it to M$ to delivery over a month late on a simply joke... WinFS in 2005, yeah right...
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
If they port it to Linux, will we have to use a urinal emulator, or will they build it from the bottom up to ensure full compatibility? ;)
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
Shouldn't Microsoft be busy fixing security holes and bugs in their software rather than releasing fake information.
This is why spammers can get the press to belive and print their press releases without any questions or fact checking.
For an example see this press release by our "friend" the "lawyer" Felstein representing "Legitimate e-Mail Marketing Companies."
sun never shines!!!: on the backplate of your iLoo - killing bacterias
and your loose hemoroids while you surf
the net while you unload...
PATENTED (C), step aside, ya mortals!!!
GRAND VIOLET BOOT SANITIZER (TM)
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT and MAGIC (TM)
Grand UNIFIED Boot Sanitizer (TM)
of course
Journalists are sure a confused bunch. How is it a hoax, if it is a "real" project and they are building and expecting to build a prototype?
Is it me, or have journalism is a dying art?
C'mon, give me a break. Would you have believed a press release from Apple renaming iTunes [on the Mac] "Windows CD Player"?
The story never made sense and was fake to begin with. What's stupid is that Microsoft's PR confirmed it.
I'm glad this iLoo thing turned out to be a hoax. I don't even want to think about the icon SlashDot would have come up with for that one...
you just can't believe anything those people say. first they say that have an operating system, now this whole iloo bizness.
You need people like me so you can point your fuckin fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So what that make you? Good?
The Microsoft condom. ... ?
Hmm, how would that sell
"To cover hole at the end, please by service pack 1"
[n/t]
>The best Requirements Document [constitution.org] ever written.
it's a bitch to impliment.
-pyrrho
Microsoft stole the iLoo idea from a British guy named Andrew Cubitt. When he threatened to sue, Microsoft spun the whole thing as a joke. See proof here:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9442
and
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9461
MS lies, as usual.
No shit? I mean, really -- NO SHIT.
I was so looking forward to doing two "downloads" at once. Or, if it was Unix/Linux, I could do two core dumps at once!
I was wondering what would happen when a script kiddie got all the toilets to flush at the same time! Now I will never find out... :(
the blue sh** of death
couldn't help myself, sorry..
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
See http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/585269 7.htm
...
"The Internet-enabled Porta-Potty that has captured the world's attention has gone from being a hoot to being a hoax to being real again, but not a product Microsoft is going to pursue."
"But after the iLoo was widely covered earlier this month, U.S. Microsoft executives became squeamish. `We didn't think the program supported our brand in the way we want to support our brand,' Gurry said."
Jack
According to this article Microsoft is now claiming that the iLoo is not a hoax, but was a concept being developed and has since been cancelled. "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....On Tuesday, though, Microsoft said it had relied on bad information from a Microsoft employee in the United Kingdom who said it was a hoax, Gurry said. After more talks with people in London, the company determined it was a real project, after all.
According to Wired:
Nothing to see here; Move along.
2 hours ago AP posted a story saying it is not a hoax.
= 52 8&ncid=528&e=2&u=/ap/20030513/ap_on_hi_te/microsof t_hoax
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid
hee hee hee hee
iLoo shits on you!
Microsoft is so embarrassed about their iLoo proposal, they have tried to claim it was all a hoax. However, ABCNews says the iLoo was real but has been killed. Microsoft can't even keep their story straight on something as ridiculous as building a computer system into a public toilet!
Did anyone noticed that the iLoo hoax came the day that Gates announced something like: 'nobody will be forced to use Longhorn, but you'll use it anyway'. I think the hoax was a distraction from the silly messages of microsoft that day
Sometimes I think reporters will believe anything...
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Register Followup
theregister is now reporting that this is not a hoax. It really is not that unbelievable Microsoft would be sill enough to do this.
Another thing which should not surprise in the least would be people smearing mud and excrement over the machines. Hygieneis the big flaw in this plan.
British Festivals are invariably muddy, and also inhabited predominantly (or so it seems) by people who permanently protest about things like international conglomerates.
The rest of the people are more likely than not office workers on their wekend off, who will hack the computers, or hog them for an hour whilst they knock one off.
Perhaps it is just Glastonbury. But some of my perspective must ring true.
El Reg has the story that MS USA got it wrong ... MS UK is building an Iloo
An analysis of the situation and a letter from MS USA
My spelling isn't bad, I'm evolving the language
Actually, today's (May 14, 03 Section D4) Wall Street Journal claims the Redmond Borg really had such a project and the claim of Hoax was erroneously reported Monday. "Lisa Gurry, director of marketing for MSN, chalked it up to 'internal miscommunication.'". Perhaps the reason for the "stability and security in Windows Server 2003", is external miscommunication.
This adds a whole new dimension to their advertising slogan.
As stated on userfriendly... the iLoo concept was created by some of the most nefarious minds in the cosmos.
Oh ok, maybe not by "Hastur", but MS is equally evil and seems to believe in their own divinity.
I especially like the sign on the door... "where do you want to go today" - load of crap indeed