Ahh… April 1st, 2011 has just passed by and we are here with another list of April fool pranks by companies who are not so famous but pranked some very creative jokes towards their customers and users.

This is one day of the year when you should trust your senses and reasoning more than your eyes or ears, applicable for both online and offline worlds. While we have already covered April fool pranks by Google and April fool screensavers , the following list is all about creative April fool pranks by companies which do not appear in the limelight.

1. New Age Gadgets

Internet retailer Iwoot.com advertised several “high-tech” products, such as wireless “Ear” Phones, a RoboGirlfriend, “Memory Stick” and a Blue Tooth Brush.

2. Whistling Carrot

Okay this one is a little old (2002) and outdated but certainly a good one.

The British supermarket chain Tesco published an advertisement in The Sun,announcing that the company will soon launch a a genetically modified ‘whistling carrot. An advertisement was aired explaining that the carrots were specially engineeredand that they would grow with tapered air holes in sides. When you cook these carrots, the airholes will produce a whistling sound

3. Swedish Color Television Classic April Fool Prank

This is yet another classic April fool prank by a Swedish television channel which occurred on April 1 1962. At that time, STV (Sveriges Television) broadcasted in Black and White and was the only Television channel in Sweden.

STV Announced that the channel would soon describe a procedure to view colored images on their black and white television sets, all they have to do is pull a Nylon stocking over the front of the idiot box.

4. Flying Penguins

Other than Google or YouTube, not many companies are known to create video pranks on April Fools day. BBS however, surprised it’s audience by airing a small footage of Flying Penguinsfound in Antartica. Hit the play button below to see the prank in action

5. Relation Shift Automated Person Purge From Kodak

Kodak announced a new app which takes your relationships to a new level. A new tech called Three pronged” approachhelps users remove a person from all their photos and videos in just one touch. Their so called facial recognition software can identify a person throughout their photos or videos. This can be used to hunt down the person whom you dumped last summer and remove him/her from all photos of yours.

6. The Pirate Bay Wins Auction Site Ebay

A new blog post went live at the PirateBay blog announcing the following

We saw that eBay was up for sale on their own site and since we have a long going law suit against them for abuse of our trademark name “pirat(ebay)”, we wanted to be pragmatic and just use our immense profits to buy them.

This will hopefully make us spend less time with the lawsuit.

Do you know any good and  hilarious  April Fool pranks by famous companies ? Shoot your thoughts and links in the comments section below.

Source: Aprilfoolsdayontheweb.com

Firefox 4 is definitely one of the best versions of Firefox I have seen over the last couple of years. Firefox is one of the browsers I use since it was launched, but there were a few features and annoyances which needed to be fixed. Some of these were high memory hogging, no easy sync of bookmarks, passwords or browser preferences, no feel of a modern browser, unnecessary UI clutter and so on.

Thankfully, the Mozilla team has learned that this is the age of cloud computing and have introduced some rich features in Firefox 4. This includes Firefox Sync, Site tagging, Instant search, smart folders, tab groups and more.

Last time we tipped you with a comprehensive list of Internet Explorer 9 tips and tricks. Now here is another Ultimate List featuring Firefox 4 tips, tricks, hacks and more which will help you get a better and flawless Firefox experience.

Download, Installation And Getting Started With Firefox 4

Download Firefox 4

If you haven’t tried the newer Firefox 4 yet, we suggest you download Firefox 4 final version or try the RC download here (our review of Firefox 4). Yesterday, along with the final version of Firefox 4, Mozilla also released the RC version of Firefox for Android and Maemo on the Android Market.

Prerequisites For Installing Firefox 4

It’s always a good idea to first check your system requirements and the prerequisites of a software program before installing it on your operating system. This system requirements page at Mozilla details all the software and hardware requirements required for Firefox 4 to run on Windows, Mac or Linux.

Firefox 4 Installation Guide And Screenshot Tour

If you’re no geek and need step by step instructions for installing Firefox 4 on your computer, the screenshot tour by Howtogeek should be a good start.

Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft’s latest browser which was launched on 14th March 2011 has quite a few improvements when compared to it’s previous versions. IE9 has a sleek new interface which is less cluttered and provides rich browsing experience.

There are no intrusive toolbars, unnecessary navigation buttons and other eye tiringbuttons or graphical elements. Moreover, Internet Explorer 9 is way faster, has improved performance standards and hardware acceleration support. And yes, Internet Explorer 9 is the latest version of the browser that’s supports HTML5 technology.

We tipped you with a list of tips and tricks for Internet Explorer 8, now here is another comprehensive list of tips and tricks for Internet Explorer 9 which is worth bookmarking. Don’t forget to visit our Ultimate Lists section to find more such useful and comprehensive lists for different software and browsers.

Note: This list will be regularly updated as we come across new posts.

Download, Installation And Getting Started With IE9

Download Internet Explorer 9

If you haven’t tried the newer Internet Explorer 9 yet, we suggest you download Internet Explorer 9 final version or try the RC download here. There are separate download links for Windows7, Windows Vista and Windows Server, so make sure you download the right setup installer.

You might also want to check out IE9′s brand new website at beautyoftheweb.com

Prerequisites For Installing Internet Explorer 9

When you install Internet Explorer 9, additional prerequisite software and components are also installed. The prerequisites vary, depending on the operating system you use.

Microsoft has put together a support and FAQ page for installation compatibility fixes for Internet Explorer 9, so if you’re having problems installing IE9 on your computer, head over to this support page to learn more about the required software and components required for Internet Explorer 9 installation.

Everyone from the East to the West coast is waiting for Black Friday, right? You’re not? Stop lying! . That’s right, mark 26th November Black Friday falls on this date and it’s the perfect excuse to get that gadget you’re craving for! Bonus points go for not spending as much as you would usually. With that in mind, we have devised a small list of the best places to find Black Friday deals.

Black Friday @ GottaDeal.com

Touting itself to be the official Black Friday deals site, this website has collated mostly every ad from AAFES to Walmart for Black Friday and promise to send you email notification as soon as they get to know about the latest deal. They also have a really useful Deal of the Day sidebar arranged by shop.

BFads.net: The guys over BFads have also collected all the major (and some minor) Black Friday deal ads and have conveniently organized them for the sake of you, the Black Friday Shopper! They also have a neat monthly giveaway for users of their site. Their blog also publishes about some fabulous deals that you must go for!

BlackFriday.info: This site also claims to be the official site dealing with Black Friday ads. The minimalist, streamlined site posts high quality ad scans as and when they are released along with a friendly icon of the store.

Amazon: Though technically not in Thanksgiving mood yet, Amazon has already put up a huge Holiday Savings toy list for shoppers. They have also put up a "Prelude to Black Friday" video game deal list with a new game up on sale everyday.

Newegg: The good folks over at Newegg have had a blowout November deal list, with a new 24-hour-only deal throughout the month. They also have some special deals lasting for more than a day.

Best Buy: The retail giant has put up the preview of all the great deals that will be valid on Black Friday. Named "Doorbusters", I wouldn’t be surprised if their doors are busted with the influx of deal-crazy shoppers!

SavyGamer: This video-game-deal only site is regularly updated with all the latest digital distribution and retail discounts on video games. It’s sure to be well updated throughout Black Friday. Hang on to this site!

According to Apple Insider, Apple has also posted a sale teaser for this Black Friday where they will be having a one day sale at the Apple Online Store. It couldn’t get more exciting that this, could it?

So do you have any other sites you shop or watch Black Friday deals at? Join the club and add your favorite Black Friday deals to the comments.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. As this famous saying goes, sometimes you have to take a break and give yourself some play time. Now, you could load up that Medal of Honor CD or even start playing Call of Duty, but what if you could just play a quick game while you are browsing the web in Google Chrome?

Yes, I am talking about Google Chrome Extensions which allow you to play games from within the browser without even leaving the current website you are browsing. You can play these games while you are waiting for a download or waiting for task to finish in the browser and then continue doing what you do. So without further ado, here is another one of Techie Buzz’s Ultimate List featuring Chrome Extensions which you can use to play Games on the browser.

Please note: Though these extensions do not turn the browser into a gaming device and some times they use popups to open the games. That said, the quick access to games is definitely worth it.

BLOONS, The Game! - Alert, this is a very ADDICTIVE game. I remember playing it once and never stopping. With BLOONS, you play the role of a monkey bursting balloons.   Find that easy? Just play some levels and you will see that it isn’t as easy as it seems. And like I said this game can hook you, so make sure you have the time before starting to play this one. They also have a big selection of Tower defense games. If you are more into Tower Defense Games, check out our list of Top 5 Tower Defense Games.

Mario Game – Who hasn’t heard about Mario. Oh yea those new genre gamers. But this classic will keep you hooked for awhile. If you want to play Super Mario, yes there is an extension for that too. Download it here.

Pacman – Another classic arcade game which will keep you busy for awhile. Control your pacman and eat all the dots before the monsters have you for dinner.

Snake Game – The game that probably started the mobile gaming revolution. The snake game has been there and done that, now you can also play it on Chrome.

Chess Game – Show the computer your better brains by challenging it in a Chess game while you wait for something to download or just don’t have anyone else to play Chess with.

Mini Golf – Have some time before heading to the golf course? Just load up this game and practice your putts. However, don’t expect it to improve your score card at the course .

Chrome MineSweeper – Another classic games I started playing when I had Windows 98. This game has stayed around for a long time and you can continue playing it in Google Chrome now.

Ping Pong 3D – Play Ping Pong against the computer and see if you can win. This is one of the hardest Flash games I have played and winning is not a joke.

Tetris – Another classic Arcade game which can keep you hooked. Go build.

Copter Game – Keep the copter from hitting obstacles while you make sure to not hit the terrain, the more you fly, the tougher it gets.

Boys Vs Girls Tic-Tac-Toe Game – Aha those classics, this games lets you play Tic-Tac-Toe from right within the browser. The only difference is that it replaces the X and O with a boy and girl doodles. If you want to just play the classic game, download this Tic-Tac-Toe game extension.

Games for bored people – Waiting for a slow webpage to load? Then make the balls bounce with this completely USELESS game that will keep you busy for a while.

Game Button – This extension allows you to play tons of games in a new popup window. Just select your genre, choose your game and start playing.

Free Online Games @ Gadget Runner – This Chrome extension provides you with a set of games that can keep you hooked for a while. The Games include Sim Taxi, Mini Pool, Solitaire and Bowling among others.

Phew, that’s quite a few games and it doesn’t make Jack a dull boy anymore. If you have your own favorite games, do share them with us. I will add them to the list.

Also Read:

• 15 Chrome Extensions Worth Installing
• Ultimate List of Adobe Air Games

iOS 4 was launched a few weeks ago and there have been issues with it including it being a battery drain, however, iOS 4 packs in a lot of new features and enhancements. iOS 4 is also the default OS you will find on the iPhone 4. If you have been using the iOS 4 and haven’t got much out of it yet, here is a list of tips and tricks which will help you get started with the latest OS from Apple.

So here is our Ultimate List of Tips and Tricks for the iPhone 4 and iOS 4, hope you find them useful and get some good information out of it.

34 iOS 4.0 Features and Tips For the iPhone and iPod touch

Mac Life has a huge list of tips and tricks for using iOS 4 on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The tips including backing up your devices, iPod Controls, changing search engines and more. If you want to figure out the head and tail of iOS 4, this post will be a good one to start out with. Visit the Mac Life post here.

The New iOS4 Shortcuts, Features, and Settings You Need to Know

Another interesting post about iOS 4 shortcuts, features and Settings from the ever reliable Life Hacker. The post delves into details on the new shortcuts and features you might want to know about. Head over to Life Hacker to read the post.

Mac In Touch iPhone 4 and iOS 4 Tips

Having problems with your iPhone 4 or iOS 4? Mac in Touch has several useful tips for the common problems being faced on iPhone 4 and iOS 4. It includes solutions for the Death Grip, Poor Battery Life, Slow Upgrades and so forth. Read some of the solutions to problems on iPhone 4 and iOS 4 here.

Subtle Changes You May (Or May Not) Notice in iOS 4

iOS 4 is a huge update over the iPhone OS 3.1.3 and there may be several features which are small enough to miss. Don’t worry, Nik Fletcher has put up a list of 18 subtle changes you may not notice in iOS 4. You can find the first batch of subtle change here and the second batch here.

Multitasking in iPhone 4 and iOS 4

Our very own posts which shows you how to multitask using iOS4 or your new iPhone 4, its pretty easy to do, however, not many know how to do it yet. Read How To Multitask in iOS 4 and iPhone 4.

Creating and Using Folders in iOS 4 and iPhone 4

iOS 4 adds in a much needed feature called folders which allows users to club several applications together into a single folder. Creating folders is pretty easy. Learn How to create folders in iPhone 4 and iOS 4.

20 Tips and Tricks for iOS 4 and iPhone 4

Tech Radar has put up another list of tips and tricks for the iOS 4 and iPhone 4. Though you might find several things which are already present in the earlier posts, there are a few things which are unique here. Head over to read the Tech Radar tips here.

6 Things to Do After Installing iOS 4

Did you just install iOS 4? Well, Check out few things you need to do after installing iOS 4, again some of the things mentioned are unique. Read it here.

Once again as all our other Ultimate Lists, this one too is non-exhaustive and will be updated as and when we come across new tips worth mentioning. So don’t forget to bookmark and share this page, you never know when you might need some help.

Google Buzz has not made a splash as expected, however, it is slowly being used by a wider range of people. So what about a Google Buzz search engine, or a tool to access Buzz from your desktop or a Google Buzz widget creator?

Well, Google is definitely not working on creating any of the above things, but we have you covered, here are some nice tools which will allow you to use Google Buzz better.

Recommended Read: Ultimate List of Tips and Tricks for Google Buzz

Google Buzz Search Engine

Buzzzy is a search engine which allows you to search for topics across several social networking sites, including Twitter, FriendFeed, Google Reader and Google Buzz.

When you search for a term using Buzzzy, it will crawl the public timeline on the social networking sites and display results to you from them. Pretty useful if you want to see who is sharing your content on Google Reader and Google Buzz. For Twitter, you might want to take a look at how to track your brand or website on Twitter.

Google Buzz Extensions and Add-ons for Browsers

If you are a Google Chrome user, there are quite a few extensions  you can make use of. For the simple update counter, you can make use of Google Buzz Checker. Mobile Buzz allows you to access the mobile version of Buzz from within Google Chrome and Chrome Buzz allows you to view updates from your friends, and post to Buzz and comment.

There are a few extensions for Firefox users as well, including an extension called Buzz it, which will allow you to add any webpage to Buzz. An extension called WiseStamp, which allows you to add your latest buzz update as your Gmail signature

Google Buzz Widget

Want to share your Google Buzz updates with the rest of the world? Buzz Counter is a handy service which will allow you to create a widget out of your Buzz updates and display it on any webpage. Please note that you will have to make your profile public for this widget to work.

Google Buzz for Desktop

Many social networking services can be accessed through your desktop. However, Google Buzz is not that highly adopted yet, but a tool called Google Buzz for Desktop will allow you to access Google Buzz from your desktop. However, this tool is far from usable right now.

Are you using any other tools to access Google Buzz? Do share them with us through your comments.

So Google Buzz has been released and you have been wondering what all the buzz is all about. Google Buzz is a just a social networking platform for Gmail and other Google products which helps you share and discuss with your friends and followers.

Think of Google Buzz as a cross between Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed. But now that you know what Google Buzz is in plain words, do you know how to make best use of it? Well if not, here is another Ultimate List from us which will list out all the useful tips and tricks for using Google Buzz.

This list will be non-exhaustive and will be updated as and when we come across new tips. If you have any tips to share, feel free to add it through your comments.

Best Tips and Tricks for Google Buzz

How To Do Everything in Google Buzz – Trust Gina Trapani to give you the best tips when it comes to using Google Products. In this post Trapani lists out several things that you can do with Google Buzz.

5 Google Buzz Tips for the Advanced User – Sarah Perez from Read Write Web has some excellent tips for advanced users of Google Buzz.

How to Make Google Buzz Follower Lists Private – By default, Google Buzz follower lists are publicly available for others to view through your Google Profile. Business Insider has some tips on how to make them private. A similar tip is also available at Life Hacker.

4 Google Buzz Hacks for Users, Developers, and Haters – Love Google Buzz or Hate it, these tips will help you get around some of the common problems in Google Buzz.

How to Disable Google Buzz – Our own tip on disabling Google Buzz and banishing it forever.

How to Hide Update Count in Gmail – If you want to use Google Buzz but don’t want to see the number of updates it has, you could use a Greasemonkey script to hide the counter.

Get Rid of Email Updates from Google Buzz – Tips to hide email updates from Google Buzz, you can either create a filter or disable the system label from showing up.

Add any Blog or RSS Feeds to Google Buzz – Want to add your Blog RSS feed or any other RSS feeds to Buzz? Here is how you can do it. The good thing is that, this question was answered using Google Buzz itself.

How to Bring Google Buzz Updates to Twitter – Google Buzz does not officially support sending updates to Twitter, till they do, Louis Gray has us covered. Head over to the post to learn how to bring your Google Buzz Updates to Twitter.

More tips will be added as we come across them. Don’t forget to share this and tell us your own tips through your comments.

Whether it’s for work or pleasure, a laptop can be a real joy. However, if your laptop is not running as fast as it did when it was new, it may be time for some routine maintenance and cleanup.

Here are a few simple tips that you can use to make your laptop run faster, and last longer:

1. Defragment your laptop on a regular basis at least once a week. Your computer breaks all of your files up into many pieces, and scatters them throughout your hard drive.  What defragmenting does is take all these mixed and scattered pieces, and re-organizes them neatly into a space where they can be easily accessed more quickly – The Best Free Defragmentation Tools.

2. Cleaning your Registry is a must. One of the most important parts of Windows is the registry. Fatal errors to your laptop can occur from disfiguration or corruption of this section. The most common cause of registry problems is buggy software installation.  Keep your registry clean and consider getting and running a registry cleaner from time to time. There are many of these programs available online, and some of them are even free – Keep Your Registry Clean With Mr.Fix Registry Cleaner.

3. Unclutter your hard drive of unnecessary programs and files such as entertainment, games, music, pictures, etc. If you allow them to add up, these files can clog the hard drive and slow it down. If your hard drive is too full, it can also cause problems with your computer’s RAM and processing capability. This can lead to significant slow-downs and frequent crashes – Windows Cleanup for Fast and Fun Cleanups.

4. Get good virus protection. You need to run a good anti-virus program and spyware/adware program at least once a week, if not more. Many people do this every day at start-up. Most of these programs are able to run automatically on their own schedule without your assistance, which can save you a lot of time – The Best Free Antivirus and Malware protection.

5. Empty the recycle bin regularly. It doesn’t do you a lot of good to delete all that unnecessary junk if it’s just going to sit in your Recycle Bin. No one likes taking out the trash but it needs to be done! – Recycle Bin tips and tricks.

   
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   10 Ways to Make Your Laptop Run More Efficiently originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Keith Dsouza on Wednesday 6th January 2010 12:57:10 PM under Featured Articles. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.
   
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   So 2010 has already set in, almost in every place across the world, and the predictions are flowing out like hot coffee on a chilly night. Though, we have given our judgment that 2010 will be the year of Internet tablets, there are several other folks out there who have making some really nice tech predictions for 2010, most of which, we hope come true.

   

   Here is a look at the top 2010 tech predictions for the year from some of the most reputed and authoritative sites in the Tech World.

   Google OS Predictions for Google in 2010

   If there is one blog you have to choose to read the latest scoops on Google, it has to be the Google Operating system. No, it is not related to Google Chrome OS, however it is related to everything Google.

   Alex Chitu, the brain behind Google OS, has come up with 20 predictions on things that might happen @Google in 2010, you can also read Alex’s take on what will be the Top 10 Google Apps in 2010.

   2010 Predictions @RWW

   One of my favorite blogs, Read Write Web (RWW), has put up an excellent set of 2010 predictions, coming from MacManus, Marshall, Sarah Perez, and the other writers at RWW. Take a look at the 2010 predictions from RWW.

   5 Predictions for Facebook from @Mashable

   One of the most popular social blog, Mashable, has put up a list of the top 5 prediction for Facebook. At the rate at which Facebook has been growing, it would not be surprising that all of them come true. Take a look at the Top 5 predictions for Facebook @Mashable.

   Technology Predictions for 2010 @Telegraph

   Telegraph.co.uk has to be one of the most famous newspapers which also rule in the online world, especially in the tech sector. So, predictions from them have to be taken seriously. Take a look at the Technology Predictions for 2010 @Telegraph.

   New York Times 2010 Predictions about Tech Companies

   NYT takes a look at 5 companies, including Twitter, Facebook and Apple and gives their predictions on how they will shape up in 2010. Take a look at New York Times Five 2010 Predictions about Tech Companies.

   Three Mobile Predictions for 2010 @jkOnTheRun

   James Kendrick aka jkOnTheRun, runs one of the most authoritative blog for mobile news, so it is highly unlikely that we can ignore his predictions for mobiles in 2010. Take a look at Three Mobile Predictions for 2010 @jkOnTheRun.

   PC World’s Tech Predictions for 2010

   PC World? Does it ring anything in your mind? Of course it does, it is probably one of the biggest site for all your Tech News. Catch up on the Top 10 Predictions in 2010 @PCWorld.

   Open Source and Linux/Ubuntu Predictions for 2010

   Open Source will definitely make a mark this year, what with Linux shaping the decade with some excellent contributions. Without doubts, Linux will play a big role in how the technology shapes in 2010 and the rest of the new decade. Here are some excellent predictions for Linux and Open Source in general for the year 2010.

   • Open Source in 2010: Nine Predictions @Datamation
   • Open Source Predictions for 2010 @gHacks
   • Open Source Predictions for 2010 @Gartner

   More 2010 Tech Predictions [Updates]

   • 5 BitTorrent Predictions for 2010 @Torrent Freak
   • @Mashable’s predictions on what Geotagging will do in 2010

   Well I did not run out of steam already, will keep this list updated as and when I come across some more tech predictions for 2010. This is Non-exhaustive list, so bookmark it for future updates.

   
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