Tag Archives: april fools

StarCraft: Supply Depot 2: Raising the Bar to a New Low in Mobile Gaming

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Blizzard have dialed back on their April Fools shenanigans. This year they’ve literally scaled down their pranks. The company is promoting a mobile game set in the StarCraft universe, where we’ll get to control one of the most important figures in Terran history: the supply depot.

starcraft supply depot

I must say, Blizzard really gets the idiosyncracies of mobile gaming. Supply Depot has simple controls and is perfect for a 5-minute or even 5-second burst of gaming.

starcraft supply depot 2

You can play the first mission of StarCraft: Supply Depot 2 on Blizzard’s website right now. Get on it, it might not be there tomorrow.

The game’s a bit too gory for kids though; if you have children I suggest you check out the company’s new Blizzard Kidzz educational games.

starcraft supply depot 4

 

 


Chrome Multitask Mode: Surf with Two Mice at Once!

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If there’s one thing we can count on Google for ever year, it’s a bunch of hilarious, geeky April Fools pranks, and this might be my favorite of 2012. It’s a new capability for Google Chrome called Multitask Mode.

chrome multitasking two mice

Google’s crack research scientists have determined that the reason we’re not as efficient as we could be when using our computers is that we’re only using 50% of our hands at any given time. Basically, in Chrome Multitask mode, you connect two mice to your computer, so you can surf multiple websites or use two applications side-by-side – at the same exact time. The technology would also allow you and a friend to surf side-by-side on the same computer.

Brilliant! The funny thing is that I always have multiple application windows open side-by-side, since I have a big 27-inch screen, so this doesn’t look that unusual to me – other than the part where there’s a second mouse for my left hand.


April Fools’ Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats

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April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats
Depending on where you are right now, you're either pretty much done with April Fools' Day (hence our bloated inbox thanks to all you lovely tipsters!) or it's just about to start on your side of the world. In fact, some of this year's submissions already got a head start, including the excellent 8-bit quest mode in Google Maps. Oh, don't worry, there's plenty more from Mountain View and the usual participants this year -- we've rounded up the best of the lot right after the break for your amusement. Keep an eye on this as we will be adding new goodies to the list throughout the day.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Continue reading April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats

April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Maps 8-bit version for NES: April Fools arrives a day early in Mountain View

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Well, it appears that April Fools is in full effect -- at least if you ask Google. Today the company introduced its "latest" build of Google Maps, dubbed Google Maps 8-bit version, tailored specifically for the Nintendo Entertainment System. According to Google, this Dragon Quest spoof version of Maps will come in the form of a special NES cartridge that can connect to the internet via dial-up. This apparently allows most of the heavy lifting to get done on Google's servers, where the maps are rendered to 8-bit form "in real-time." Better yet, it even supports voice search. Naturally, there's no word on a release date, but you can currently check out the "beta" by visiting Google Maps in your browser and selecting "Start Your Quest." That said, that company warns that "your system may not meet the minimum requirements for 8-bit computations" -- something tells us it'll still be less resource-intensive than Crysis, though. We've checked it out and found some goodies, including an alien at Area 51, so let us know what you come across during your journey in the comments.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Google Maps 8-bit version for NES: April Fools arrives a day early in Mountain View

Google Maps 8-bit version for NES: April Fools arrives a day early in Mountain View originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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