Google’s April Fools prank, geeky food, the cutest robot you’ve ever seen, musical pants and Foursquare’s canine treats! Check out these and more from the hottest tech headlines of the day.
1. Google introduces Gmail Motion, a service that tracks your movements and translates them into email commands. Google’s real April Fools: getting everyone’s hopes up and then squashing them on the ground. [The Daily What]
2. Would you like that coffee with stainless-steel and phase change material? Try Joulies, the bean-shaped capsules that cool down coffee to a drinkable temperature and keep it there, making burnt tongues and that lovely microwave taste things of the past. [Kickstarter]
3. Introducing REETI, the adorable lil’ robot whose emotions you can program on your iPhone. He’s touch-sensitive, speaks French, and wants to be your friend. I want one. [REETI]
4. Twitter has been called out as being far smaller than it proclaims itself to be. There are 56 million accounts following nobody, and another 90 million with no followers of their own. [Business Insider]
5. Hide yo wife, hide yo kids ’cause they face-identifying everyone out here. Pending the revision of the public opinion that this shit is creepy, Google is developing face-recognition software for use in your camera phone. Meaning, if you allow Google to access your information, that sketchy guy at the bar in whose face you threw a drink could access your name, address and phone number just by taking your picture. But don’t panic yet, it won’t be around until a little later, and hopefully the actual software won’t run like an up-close-and-personal version of Street View. [CNN]
6. The greatest use of Foursquare so far: free dog treats! A German dog food company has created a billboard that, once checked into, doles out a tasty treat for your dog.
7. Robots tasked to aid clean up efforts at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant are controlled using Xbox 360 controllers. Gamers FTW. [Kotaku]
8. ThinkGeek’s April Fools gadgets aka “Shit I Wish Were Real” include edible gummy iPhone cases, Star Wars lightsaber popsicles, and Playmobil Apple Store set (“Purchase the optional Line Pack and stage your own Apple Device launch party!”) [Think Geek]
9. The periodic table is finally relevant to today’s youth as evidenced by the following tweet from astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson:
“Evidence that my 14yr old daughter is geek-literate: In lieu of OK, one might type K while texting. She instead typed ‘Potassium’ She probably asks for a lead and jelly sandwich for lunch, too.” [Jezebel]
10. You never know what’s in somebody’s pants, but it may be a drumkit. A 17-year-old Brit has designed a pair of jeans that, when hooked up to a backpack full of speakers, functions as a full, electric drumkit. Drummers may soon need to find employment elsewhere. Check out the video on BBC, it’s cool. [BBC]
