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Pranksters invade Starbucks with desktop computers
We've already seen the confusion and hilarity some so-called "portable" computers can cause when taken out into public, but those shenanigans are nothing compared to the scene stirred up when the folks from Improv Everywhere lugged some ancient desktop computers (replete with CRT monitors) into a Starbucks. As you can see in the video after the break, they surprisingly weren't kicked out, but they did manage to attract a fair bit of attention, including from a few folks that thought the computers were set up for public use. Be sure to head up the read link below for the full report, as well as another video with the team relishing in their accomplishment.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
LED pranksters remember the Aqua Teen Hunger Force "bomb" scare
In an expression of remembrance for a historical moment in hair-trigger overreactions, artists all over the Boston area have taken to the streets armed with provocative LED signage. Paying homage to the "bomb" scare of January 31st, 2007 (which was actually just viral promotion for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie using LED art), creative pranksters have descended upon the city with electronic recreations of President Bush, Osama Bin Laden, and a number of other inflammatory images sure to rile the local authorities but-good. Truck on over to MAKE to see a collection of images, and if you happen to be in the Boston area, don't miss a chance to snap some photos of your own!
Gordon Freeman crank calls Coast to Coast AM
A theoretical physicist named "Gordon" called up the conspiracy wonks at Coast to Coast AM to tell 'em all about a mysterious government agent – a "G-Man" if you will – that he keeps seeing around. We don't want to spoil too much so hit up the audio embedded after the break and kids, take notes. This is how you do a crank call. Now if only "Alyx" would call Dr. Cooper Lawrence's show and ask what's up with that strong but silent boy she knows. [Thanks, Colin]
Flickr Find: Jailbroken iPhone at Apple Store
Just like Macenstein, I can't actually tell you whether this photo is real, photoshopped, or just staged (my guess is staged), but it is funny. This iPhone, seemingly on display at the Apple Store, has one too many icons, and so apparently what the AT&T salesman told a customer in front of me at the AT&T Store when I went to buy my iPhone is untrue: you can, in fact, put your own applications on the iPhone. Who knew?!That said, we at TUAW can't recommend you do something like this yourself-- those geniuses at the Apple Store don't get paid enough to put up with your mischievous behavior, so give 'em a break. Plus, it's only funny once. But this one time, it is pretty funny.
WoW Moviewatch: Warcraft Prank Calls
There isn't a lot of movie to today's Moviewatch -- but there's plenty of sound, which tells the whole story. Here we have Zimpaz making World of Warcraft-related prank calls. (You know, now that I think of it, I'm quite surprised that this is the first incident of World of Warcraft prank calling to make it on the interwebs.) And our hero starts his prank-calling career with the largest and most obvious institutional target: a bank. Listen and enjoy!Previously on Moviewatch...
360 display boxes vandalized, Wii evangelized
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Xbox_360_display_boxes_vandalized_Wii_evangelized'; If we're to believe Dustin Wilson's assurances, the mischief above wasn't a product of Photoshop or any other methods of internet chicanery. He actually scribbled the Wii endorsement onto the Xbox 360 display boxes with a white paint marker while one of the game shop's employees was distracted. This episode of When Keeping it Wii Goes Wrong was created as an entry for the EvWiiwhere Challenge hosted by N+, a MyOpera community for Nintendo fans. The contest called for readers to take pictures of the word "Wii" spelled out in unconventional ways, but we're sure this wasn't what the site had in mind. We might have our gripes with all the Electronics Boutiques and GameStops out there, but vandalizing other people's property just isn't cool, especially when it's at the expense of a worker who's just doing her job. But who knows, maybe this sort of joke will catch on with other retailers? If you think about it, this would be a great way to promote the Xbox 360 to customers inside the shop, while at the same time catching the interest of people outside who see the storefront's Wii wisecrack. It's genius!
Mac OS X kernel panic screensaver - let the pranks begin
What's better than a Dashboard widget that can display a Mac OS X kernel panic? A full-on screensaver that can simulate one, of course! Mark Johns of Doomlaser has built an eerily realistic kernel panic screensaver, right down to the slowly dropping grey shade of despair, that will surely induce panic in the hearts of its victims in the way that only the haunting question of "oh crap, did I save?!" can. For a nice touch of style, it can even pause iTunes to really stop the show.Watch a demo of the screensaver here in this post, or head over to YouTube for the original. Finally, you can snag your own pranktastic copy from Doomlaser.
Puzzle Quest debug menu just a prank, nude heroes not real
Infinite Interactive released a cheat code yesterday to give players a little help in the PSP and DS versions of Puzzle Quest. The code is a long sequence of buttons pressed quickly or held for half a second. Once entered, a menu will appear that will allow you to turn off AI cheating, play the secret cow level, activate all spells, and turn on nude hero sprites (!). Now this is what an April Fools prank should be like. No outlandish promises for games we know will never exist, no half-baked Photoshopped images, and for the love of grilled cheese sandwiches, no ridiculous claims of Sony buying Nintendo. Just a good old fashioned joke that you believe at first but quickly realize you've been hoodwinked. Furthering the prankocity of the cheat, the sequence spells "I AM A NOOB" in Morse code!We can't help but wonder how many Puzzle Quest fans dove for their system to try it out. You know, to turn off AI cheating. Not that nude hero thing.[Via DS Fanboy]
Hoax or prank: did Zug punk the whole Super Bowl?
Did Zug punk the entirety of the Super Bowl-watching population this year, an estimated 90 million people? Or is their chronicle of "the most ambitious prank in history" a prank in and of itself? We don't know the answer -- for the record, we're leaning towards hoax -- but Zug claims that with some social networking and 2,350 Prince-themed pendants (ordered from Chinese manufacturer Ok Fun Times Electronics Co.), they were able to get the audience to light up and spell out ZUG.COM during the halftime show, thinking they'd instead be spelling out PRINCE. Ok, makes sense, but you'd think everyone would have heard about this by now, right? Well, Zug claims the media's been trying to cover it up; they expect us to imagine how few would really want to admit that five unauthorized people could transport a quarter ton of boxes on pallets -- contents unknown -- into the most televised sporting event of the year. For the record, what was the cost on this supposed stunt? $40,000 in equipment and legal fees, as well as a 2nd mortgage on lead prankster John Hargrave's home.
Steve Jobs: Smooth Criminal
Steve's a smooth guy, we know this. Witness his near-flawless execution of the keynotes. Marvel at how he keeps a straight face when asked about secret projects. Not that he always keeps his cool, but I certainly wouldn't want to play poker with the guy. The criminal part? Well, I'm not talking about stock options, I'm talking about crimes Steve has committed in front of us all, or admitted to publicly.So remember the prank call to Starbucks during the keynote? Word on the street back in my school daze: prank calling is illegal! Of course, there's a right way and a wrong way to prank call (ask the Jerky Boys). Steve was wise to end that call before someone started pouring the coffee...Now think back to November 2006, when Universal Music Group's CEO made the bold statement that iPod users are thieves, or, at least, their iPods are full of stolen music (I was just holding it for a friend, officer, honest!). Well hey, maybe he's right. I still don't see the Beatles on iTunes, and yet, somehow Steve had them on his iPhone... So Steve, do we get a copy of Limewire on our iPhones or what? You sneaky devil!Lastly, don't forget Jobsy's hacker roots. OK, Woz was the real hacker, or prankster in this case. Steve's clicker failing provided everyone in the room with a trip down memory lane. Back when the FCC didn't really worry about a couple of college kids jamming the airwaves and wreaking havoc on nerds in the common room... And then there's the association with a certain Captain Crunch, aka John Draper, and tinkering with Woz's Blue box. That was certainly a crime, although one that was apparently never pursued (despite Draper's arrest and conviction). Boy Steve, what other criminals do you hang with today? Are they as smooth as you? I forgive ya, as long as I can call for free on the iPhone by emitting a 2600 Hz tone...[Asbestos claim: this is tagged as humor, please make a note of it]
Dirty pranks catch game journalists
It pays to really scrutinize those nifty game systems people randomly ship you -- even if you're a gaming journalist and people are often randomly shipping you systems. According to Ross Miller of big daddy Joystiq, the guys of 1UP/EGM really need to heed the above advice. GameVideos.com director Mark MacDonald pranked the staffers with a fake Wii setup that was good enough to fool a few. And you can see all the loldrama unfold for yourself after the jump. Beware, however, there's a little language at times. Naughty language.
1UP editors: Wii got punk'd
Even reputed game journalists are not above gullibility. GameVideos.com Director Mark MacDonald sent us word of a prank he played in the 1UP / EGM offices recently where he used pre-recorded footage of Metroid Prime 2 and Auto Modelista, a "replica Wii joystiq [sic]," and a laptop battery posing as a sensor bar to fool more than a few editors that they had gotten a retail Wii unit in early. Dan Hsu caught on quickly, after launching into a mini-tirade about unreturned e-mails to Nintendo. A few others, however, were no so lucky, even sitting down to play the games for many minutes before realizing they were mere marionettes in a sick and twisted mind game. All the embarrassment has been caught on tape, uploaded, and embedded below.
Bored moron tortures Xbox 360 Customer Support
"Brautigham" seems to be spending his October torturing Xbox 360 Customer Support personel with a series of increasingly racist/obscene prank calls (audio not safe for work or tender eardrums). He's fairly skilled at being a patronizing ass, which no doubt comes from years of practice. If you happen to know him personally, several heavily accented headset jockeys on the Microsoft payroll will surely thank you for slapping him across the face.
NOA releases dates, engages in tomfoolery
There are plenty of high-caliber DS releases coming in the second half of this year. Nintendo of America seeks to whet our appetites, and so a recent press release bestows a convenient list of release dates upon us...that extremely informative list, reader, can be found here. What draws our attention, however, are the writings at the beginning and end of the press release. Nintendo writes: "The fourth quarter of 2006 will herald a new era for Nintendo with the launch of its remarkable new Wii(TM) home video game system. But that's not what this news item is about! How could that be, you ask? Perhaps the secret to the launch information for Wii is somehow encoded in the text of this news item. You might want to pore over it for a few hours before staying up all night to debate phraseology and comma placement with your friends online. Or maybe it's all just a scam to get you to read the other games we have launching this fall. One of the two." Okay, that was uncalled for. And later: "And, for Nintendo GameCube(TM) owners, The Legend of Zelda(R): Twilight Princess will be available for you this fall. An enhanced version also will be a launch title for Wii. That will all happen on ... Oh look, we're out of space." Those charlatans.
A look at the McDonald's Serious Games hoax
The shadowy tricksters behind last week's McDonald's hoax at the International Serious Games Events go by the revolutionary moniker the McDonald's Resistance Collective. MTV News follows the machinations that led up to the stunt, beginning with a case of mistaken identity related to Italian consortium Molleindustria's McVideoGame, who then coordinated with a French McDonald's protest group, who in turn enlisted the assistance of culture-jamming super-group The Yes Men. Got it?Taking advantage of the event's lax security, the McDonald's Resistance Collective delivered their message: "We wanted people to imagine a real popular uprising as a possible and necessary thing. We wanted people to imagine that change. We wanted them to imagine it is coming from McDonald's." That sounds all well and good; however, not everyone in attendance was impressed with their choice of venue. One detractor said, "They have damaged a fledgling event that was organized by a university, not an 'evil' [corporation], personally embarrassed the organizers, potentially annoyed other keynote presenters and, when small companies like mine are struggling to gain contracts to pay our staff, hurt those that could perhaps help them the most. To that extent, I have to say that I think it was ill-judged."Ouch! The Yes Men at WTO this was not. Like The Yes Men though, they're hoping to put a movie together about the stunt. Good luck with that, fellas.
Now this is a funny prank on Best Buy
This has nothing to do about HDTVs. Well it kind of does and yes Ben, this is a stretch. But this is a great prank. 80 people dressed up in blue polo shirts with khakis paired with a black belt and black shoes and went to a local Best Buy. They of course brought in hidden cameras and from the looks of the pics, they blended right in! These "agents" were instructed to go "wait for their friend." This caused a whole bunch of Best Buy looking people just standing around doing nothing. Eventually they got kicked out when cameras were found but this is just great. Check out the site for pics and videos.[via Digg]
Mario question cube girls let off
Remember those five teenage girls from Ravenna, Ohio, who on the eve of April first placed seventeen Mario Bros. inspired question cubes around town? Well, after HAZMAT, the Fire Dept. and the five-O were called in and the dust settled it looked like those little ladies were in for some serious trouble. Though it turns out the town of 12,000's dropping the case against them, the case prosecutor stating of the squeaky-clean teens he does "not believe that they had any bad or malicious intentions." Gee, ya think? Sure, we can understand a little why some people who didn't ever play Mario (unlike Engadget or our readers) might have gotten concerned at the sight of these boxes, but we're just glad that a slight case of Midwest terrorist hysteria didn't ultimately result in some crazed teenage witch hunt.[Via Joystiq]
