TECHNOLOGY ANNOYANCES FOR APRIL FOOLS' DAY

I have mixed feelings when it comes to April Fools' Day because the pranks that are perpetrated upon others in the spirit of this day typically fall into the same category as the practical joke. In other words, it's humor done at someone else's expense. That said, there's a growing number of technology devices out there that can be used to fool even the most technologically savvy individual and I guess I'm obligated to tell you about them because you have a right to know. My only hope is that I may save you from the humiliation just in case someone tries to pull one of these on you.

By the way, if you really want to get a good laugh on April First, be sure to check out the Home page of ThinkGeek.com. Every year they come out with the most outrageous technology devices that are supposedly for sale there. You can even check out their past years of April Fools' Day pages just in case you missed them. You won't believe how many visitors got suckered and placed orders for these nonexistent items. However, ThinkGeek also has some real technology gadgets that are ideal for the mischievous prankster lurking somewhere deep inside of you.

For starters, check out the Phantom Keystroker ($24.99). This is a tiny circuit board with a USB cable which you can plug into any available USB port. Obviously you will want to plug this into one of the ports located on the back of a desktop computer so as not to be conspicuous. Just plug it in and watch the torment begin. ThinkGeek bills its Phantom Keystroker as "ushering in a new era of sophisticated office pranks sure to drive your co-workers bonkers while you snicker silently at your desk." After attaching it, the Phantom Keystroker has the ability to mimic a keyboard and mouse. It will sporadically make random mouse movements and type out odd garbage text and phrases into word processing documents and any other places that accept typed characters. Just try and envision the hilarity this will cause. Yes, I'm being sarcastic. But let's continue with this. There's a jumper setting on the little board that lets you choose between either keyboard garbage typing, annoying mouse movements or both. There's even a little dial that lets you set the duration between these events. ThinkGeek recommends you don't set it too frequently so as to extend the agony. Personally, I really don't want to be around when you yell out "April Fools" with this one.

For more fun and frolic, ThinkGeek has the Micro Spy Remote ($17.97). It's a little keychain universal remote control. Just hold down the mute button while the device scans through literally thousands of TV brand codes. When you see or hear the TV go mute, you've locked in on the proper set of codes. Now you can change the channels, control the volume, mute the TV and even turn it on and off. Just try using one of these at your local sports bar, especially when there's a big game on. I'm sure the patrons will think this is a real hoot and buy you a beer when they discover that it's been you turning off their TV just at the big play.

One other April Fools' Day gizmo that's sure to bring down the house (right squarely on you) is their ThinkGeek Annoy-a-tron ($9.99). This evil little device also looks like a tiny circuit board that's powered by a tiny watch battery. The idea here is that after you activate it, you hide it somewhere like underneath a table or in a plant. After placing it in a proper hiding place, the "fun" begins as ThinkGeek puts it. The Annoy-a-tron generates a short (but very annoying, hence the name) beep every few minutes. Your unsuspecting target will have a hard time 'timing' the location of the sound because the beeps will vary in intervals ranging from 2 to 8 minutes. The 2kHz sound is generically annoying enough, but if you really want to aggravate somebody, select the 12 kHz sound. Because the chirp is so short in duration, it's virtually impossible to detect the direction from where it's coming. This can really become maddening as I have experienced something similar with a smoke detector I once had. The manufacturer thought it was a good idea to make it start chirping when the battery became low to alert you to change it. Unfortunately, they didn't realize how difficult it is to locate where that chip is coming from. When I finally found out what it was, trust me when I say that it never needed a battery again. Throwing it out the window has that effect on a smoke detector.

So there you have it. A virtual cornucopia of April Fools' delights just waiting for you at ThinkGeek.com. Let the fun and games begin. Just be sure your health insurance is current.

www.thinkgeek.com

Jump to:
[ Index of Craig's Columns | Main Columns Page | Computer America Home Page ]