April Fools’ Day

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on April Fools' Day:

April Fools? Open this Tech Mystery Box and get three tech-gamer surprises

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Get 3 tech-related items in this discounted mystery box.
What's in the box? Three mysterious tech items.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Insatiable curiosity has gotten the world pretty far, and a love for technology takes us even further. A love for both might get you to try this limited-time Tech Mystery Box.

Stuffed with three gaming-themed tech items valued at $70, this mystery box is on sale for just $59.99.

Don’t fall for these clever April Fools’ Day jokes

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Don’t fall for these clever April Fools’ Day jokes
You’d surely run out to spend $500 on the tvTV for Apple TV if it weren’t April Fools’ Day.
Photo: Twelve South

Many companies just can’t resist April Fools’ Day jokes. Some people find these exasperating, but others enjoy the lighthearted humor. This year, we got a ridiculous new Apple TV accessory, what’s perhaps the most tasteless way to wear an AirTag, and more.

Read on for our favorite gags to celebrate this unusual holiday.

Satechi Cybermouse boasts bulletproof aluminum, solar charging

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Satechi Cybermouse Is in the house
Satechi Cybermouse boasts features no ordinary mouse can dream of.
Photo: Satechi

Life can be hard on desktop accessories, and so Satechi created the Cybermouse. It’s made of indestructible “Super-Tough” aluminum in a design sure to widen the eyes of Elon Musk.

And the designers didn’t leave out other advanced features, like wireless and solar charging.

Stream all the bags you want with this Apple AF gag

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WaterField Designs
Exciting new *products from WaterField Designs.
Screenshot: WaterField Designs

The serious side of WaterField Designs takes meticulous care constructing bespoke cases and bags, mostly out of the finest leather, popular with users of Apple devices.

The small-batch San Francisco shop also has a wicked sense of humor in its spirit, especially for April Fools Day.

WaterField Designs produced a product page that sends up some of the most recent news to come from Apple, including an announcement that WaterField is starting a monthly original bags streaming service.

HyperDrive Ultimate Ultimate Hub adds a whopping 40 ports to your MacBook

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This USB-C hub has everything but the kitchen sink.
This USB-C hub has everything but the kitchen sink.
Photo: Hyper

Many people would like to add a few ports to their MacBook Pro, but Hyper just launched a hub for people who’d like to add a ridiculous number.

The HyperDrive Ultimate Ultimate Hub offers more than three dozen ports, in an unbelievably wide variety. It goes a long way toward turning a MacBook into a desktop PC.

T-Mobile’s Phone BoothE is an unbelievable blast from the past

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T-Mobile CEO John Legere with the Phone BoothE.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere with the Phone BoothE.
Photo: T-Mobile

Sometimes old ideas still have some life in them. That’s apparently the thought behind the T-Mobile Phone BoothE, designed to give this carrier’s customers a space to make phone calls in peace and quiet.

As a bonus, Clark Kent once again has a place to quickly change into Superman.

Microsoft puts a stop to April Fools’ Day pranks

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MS-DOS mobile
A previous Microsoft prank resurrected MS-DOS on mobile.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has banned employees from participating in April Fools’ Day pranks.

The stunts “have limited positive impact and can actually result in unwanted news cycles,” an internal memo explains. This comes just days after Microsoft resurrected Clippy, the famous Office assistant, only to remove it a day later.

LOL: April Fools’ Day pranks that are actually funny

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lol-april-fools-day-pranks-that-are-actually-funny-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201604Zuckerberg-HM-jpg
Zuckerberg's new H&M collection.
Photo: H&M
That's Snoop Dogg... churning out code for YouTube. Photo: YouTube
That’s Snoop Dogg… churning out code for YouTube. Photo: YouTube

For most of us, April Fools’ Day is an abomination. It’s like watching your dad crack terrible jokes at a party. But unlike your dad, some tech companies have perfected the art of the April Fools’ prank and come up with some pretty spectacular ones.

Here are some of the best that have made us LOL today.

Joke’s on Google after April Fools’ prank backfires

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jokes-on-google-after-april-fools-prank-backfires-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201604Minion-Mic-Drop-gif
Gmail "Mic Drop" didn't go down as well as Google hoped.
GIF: Giphy
Gmail "Mic Drop" didn't go down as well as Google hoped. GIF: Giphy
Gmail “Mic Drop” didn’t go down as well as Google hoped. GIF: Giphy

One of Google’s April Fools’ Day pranks was so unpopular with users that the company was forced to pull it just hours after it rolled out.

The Gmail stunt, which automatically inserted a “mic drop” GIF into users’ emails as they were sent, was greeted by a torrent of complaints and labeled inappropriate.

The best and worst April Fools’ Day jokes of 2015

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Find out who killed Khaleesi in the throne room. Photo: ThinkGeek
Find out who killed Khaleesi in the throne room. Photo: ThinkGeek

There’s not a more annoying day of the year to get on the Internet than April Fools’ Day. Ready or not, it’s here, and companies are spewing out a wave of fake product announcements, some of which we actually wish were real.

Don’t get pranked by this year’s jokes. We’ve rounded up the best and the worst of this year’s Internet jokes so you can laugh along, rather than being that embarrassing friend on Facebook peddling news that Tupac has come out of hiding.

Foolish Render: ‘Mac Air’ Is Flat As A Pancake

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We want to believe.
We want to believe.

Sure, we’ll be seeing a host of fun things tomorrow on the internets, many of them having to do with new crazy Apple products.

Today, however, we found this slick little number from site AppleUser: the Mac Air Desktop, a slimmed-down version of the Mac Mini.

What’s great about this sweet little photoshop job is that it meets the requirement of any good April Fools’ prank–it’s totally something we’d want to buy.

Why iOS 7 Will Be A Jony Ive Masterpiece On Our All-New CultCast

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new-cultcast-site-promo-pic-doubtfire.jpg

This week on The CultCast: Jony Ive’s huge sweeping iOS 7 changes; Apple Television and the Ring of Power; our favorite April Fools pranks; and careful, your iPad might be giving you Gorilla Arm… all that and the best listener shout out ever on this minty-fresh episode of The CultCast!

Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing now on iTunes, or hit play below and let the good times roll.

Show notes after the jump.

Cultcast 66 post player image

Ashton Kutcher Cancels All Other Projects To Play Steve Jobs Role That Was ‘Meant For Him’

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Kutcher is a dead ringer for Jobs in his early days.
Kutcher is a dead ringer for Jobs in his early days.

It seems Ashton Kutcher is delighted to be playing Steve Jobs in Mark Hulme’s upcoming movie, so much so that he has canceled all of his other projects and has already begun meeting with Steve’s friends to “get inside the voice.” Hulme reports that Kutcher has “poured himself” into the role that was “meant for him.”

TV News Anchor Tricked Into Licking iPad [Very Funny Video]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isUFXNYT80k

You’ve got to watch this video. I know April Fool’s Day is long gone, but this one is worth it. It’s the perfect set-up: a local news team prepped a segment about a new app that emits smell and taste via “piezo-electrics.” The other anchor, who’s in on the joke, tells his colleague that amazingly, it works. Skeptically, she tries it out, and everyone cracks up. Very funny.

Via NextRound

The Best Tech-Related April Fools’ Day Pranks

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Screen shot 2011-03-30 at 21.37.42

With April 1st just around the corner, it’s time to start planning your attacks on friends, colleagues, and even loved ones to ensure they’re suitably mocked, embarrassed, and shamed on April Fools’ Day. We want to make sure that no one gets off lightly this year, so to help you formulate your plan, we’ve put together a list of the best tech-related pranks and practical jokes for your disposal.

They’re all quick and easy to perform with minimal effort, and ensure your April Fools’ Day victims don’t get away from a little light-hearted pranking.

The Annoy-a-Tron from ThinkGeek

The Annoy-a-tron is essentially a high-tech fart machine, but with a little more taste. It’s $12.99 from ThinkGeek and features 6 annoying sounds that go off at random to irritate anyone within earshot. Turn it on, hide it under a co-worker’s desk, and observe them as they try to work out where the sound of a cricket is coming from. It’s a tiny device that’s easy to conceal, and if your target does manage to find it, they won’t have a clue what it is.

Check out the rest of our pranks after the break!