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The savvy Internet reader knows that you can't believe everything you read online, but on April Fools' Day we suggest that you not believe anything you read online.

Internet hoax time is just around the corner, and as our inbox continues to fill up with jaw-dropping press releases "strictly embargoed for April 1," we thought we'd put together a list of some Internet hoaxes past -- just to whet your appetite for what's to come.

1. Tacocopter: Tacocopter took the Internet by storm in late March, when a faux Silicon Valley start-up put up a website outlining a plan to deliver tacos via remote-control flying drone robots. Sound too good to be true? Well, it is. While founder Star Simpson said she wouldn't call her website a joke, Federal Aviation Administrationregulations prevent the use of unmanned aircraft for commercial services. Bonus points for faking us out beforeApril Fools' Day.

2. Gmail Paper: On April 1 2007, Google announced Gmail Paper -- a new service that would allow Gmail users to request a physical copy of any email message directly from Google. "Everyone loves Gmail. But not everyone loves email or the digital era," Google wrote. "Whatever happened to stamps, filing cabinets and the mailman? Well you asked for it, and it's here." Although of course, it wasn't. After a bit of clicking a user got to a page where Google copped to the joke. "As you may have guessed, Gmail Paper is not a real product or feature of Gmail. No, we don't plan on sending you boxes and boxes of your email in hard copy form." Wait, really?

3. Think Geek's iCade: The folks at the online super store Think Geek take April Fools' Day very seriously, writing several faux descriptions of products that are only slightly more ridiculous that the products they normally sell. In 2010 they came up with the wacky idea for the iCade an iPad cabinet that would allow you to play Atari games on your iPad with joystick and buttons built right in. But this idea had legs, and now you can buy an iCade for real on Think Geek's website for $99.99.

4.The IE IQ hoax: For one brief, glorious moment, tech reporters thought it just mightbe possible that people who used the Internet Explorer browser were actually dumber than those who used other browsers. A company called Aptiquant put out a study that seemed to prove it. The story spread like wildfire, until it was revealed to be ahoax. When the truth came out, the guy behind it all had this to say: "It was just a joke, and I didnt really mean to insult anybody." (Not technically an April Fools' Day joke, but way too good to leave out.)

5. World of Warcraft introduces Crabby, the dungeon helper: On April 1, 2011, Blizzard, the maker of World of Warcraft, introduced Crabby, a giant holographic crab that hangs out at the bottom right-hand region of your screen and helps provide advice and helpful tips as you make your way through Azeroth's dungeons. He's so awesome, and fake.

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Excerpt from:
April Fools' Day: Five great Internet hoaxes

The financially troubled Digital Region project, an alternative wholesale network operator that was built with 100m of public money to help 80% of homes and businesses in South Yorkshire (UK) gain access to superfast broadband services, is to get yet another injection of 10m from the public pursue in order to stay afloat. The service, which in January 2012 revealed that it had lost over 9.2m in 2011 and only created revenue of just 167,000 (here), has been in trouble due to low take-up for awhile now. So far none of the big UK ISP have shown much interest, which is partly because of growing competition from similar BT services and a lack of effective advertising. As a result the future of Digital Region remains deeply uncertain.

According to the Yorkshire Post today, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley Councils each own around 9% of the shares in Digital Region, while Sheffield Council owns over 17% and the remainder is owned by the governments Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which acquired Yorkshire Forwards shareholding.

As it stands now the current business model has failed and few expect the related local councils to carry it forward. Instead the least-worst scenario is that Digital Region will be kept alive for a little bit longer while a private company / ISP is found (tender) to operate the project, albeit with public funding as support. The alternative, of allowing Digital Region to fail, would allegedly be even more expensive and cause serious problems for its remaining customers.

The latest development has been expected since January when Yorkshire Forwards then CEO, Thea Stein, confirmed that more funding would be needed andthis would probably only serve to keep the lights on until the end of 2012. We are committed to seeing Digital Region flourish, but like all start-up businesses it needs support. Its important to state this is a guarantee the hope is they will not need to draw it down, said Stein.

UPDATE 4:21pm

Digital Regions Chief Operating Officer has sent over a statement.

David Cowell, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Region Ltd., said:

The project is pioneering and it has helped place South Yorkshire at the forefront of the UKs digital agenda.

Thanks to our current delivery partner Thales, the build phase has been successfully completed to time and cost and whilst the majority of the UK must wait until 2015 to experience superfast broadband, a phenomenal 80% of SY businesses and residents can already connect. DRL is delighted to move forward with the continued support of both the board and the central government and Local Authority shareholders.

Cowell added that Digital Region will move in line with the commercial model being promoted by central governments Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) for superfast broadband in the rest of the UK. The BDUK commercial model, says Cowell, places the majority of risk and liability to a private sector partner. The appointed supplier will take responsibility for all operating costs, sales, marketing and revenue generation.

Read more:
UPD Yorkshire Pumps £10m into Digital Region to Keep Broadband Project Alive

The Federal Trade Commission's final report on digital privacy contains some very welcome recommendations.

The recently released report, title "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change," looks at challenges consumers face in "today's world of smart phones, smart grids, and smart cars," as "companies are collecting, storing, and sharing more information about consumers than ever before." It sets out a framework that would allow consumers to control whether they are tracked online, have better visibility into how information is used by mobile apps and have access to their information being held by data brokers.

The commission isn't calling for "do not track" legislation similar to the "do not call" law that, in theory, protects us against unwanted marketing calls. Rather, it calls for voluntary industry compliance, which it says is starting to happen through browser-based tools and cooperation from the Digital Advertising Alliance and other players.

Ironically, this voluntary approach may actually work better than the "do not call" law, which makes it a crime for businesses to cold call phone numbers registered at DoNotCall.gov. I've registered all my phone numbers, but I still get annoying robocalls trying to sell me carpet cleaning, car insurance and a new mortgage.

The commission's focus on mobile apps is right on target. Between Google's (

One area where the commission did call for "targeted legislation" is to address consumers' lack of control over how data brokers collect and use our information. The amount of information floating around about each of us is staggering. Anyone with a phone, a bank account or a "loyalty" card, such as the one I use to get fairer prices when I shop at Safeway, is giving up information every time they shop, make a call or get on an airplane.

Many years ago -- even before the explosion of the Internet -- I made a quick and unexpected trip to Los Angeles and realized that I hadn't told anyone, not even my wife, where I was. But I realized that my cellular company, the car rental company, my credit card companies and the airline knew exactly where I was, as did all the networks and clearinghouses that transmitted and stored data. My credit and debit card companies even knew what I bought and where I was staying and my bank and the bank whose ATM I used had a pretty good idea of how much cash I had in my wallet.

Much of the information from our lives is stored in computers, and some of that is for sale to marketers, insurance companies, employers and even law enforcement -- anyone with the money.

The FTC wants Congress to pass a law that would "provide consumers with access to information about them held by a data broker." The agency is calling for a "centralized website where data brokers could identify themselves to consumers and describe how they collect and use consumer data," as well as to "detail the access rights and other choices they provide with respect to the consumer data they maintain."

That strikes me as more than reasonable. Some data brokers (along with all credit bureaus) will sell you access to your own information, but that feels a bit like extortion to me. If it's my information, it should be available to me at any time, as often as I want, for no cost and without any strings, gimmicks or sales pitches.

See original here:
Magid: FTC's digital privacy report has welcome recommendations

Welcome to Digital Blend, your one-stop-shop for coverage and recommendations of all things relating to mobile gaming, digital marketplaces, and indie titles (for the week ending April 1).

Welcome back to Digital Blend, our weekly look at the world of downloadable video gaming that exists at the fringes of the mainstream. That means we look at the hottest new mobile game releases, downloadable content drops on consoles and PCs, indie darlings that deserve your love and attention, and the best gaming values under $20.

Keep your comments and feedback coming. We want to hear from you! Did you try something you read about here and enjoy it? Is there a particular game you think weve overlooked or news you want to share? Any questions you are dying to ask? Let us know! Your thoughts, feedback, suggestions and (constructive!) criticism are welcome, either in the comments section below or directed at yours truly on Twitter, @geminibros.

* While this may not specifically relate to games, it does speak to Apples unrelenting advance into the role of platform manufacturer. The results of CNBCs All-America Economic survey show that 51 percent of U.S. households contain an Apple product of some kind. That includes Mac computers as well as iOS devices, but it still stands as a powerful example of how fundamentally Apples mobile initiatives have impacted the gaming space. [via CNBC]

* The never-ending war of black spy versus white spy will rage on this summer! Mad Magazines Spy Vs. Spy is coming back in a big way. Theres a new movie reportedly in the works and, prior to that, an iOS revival of First Star Softwares 1984 set for release this summer. A teaser trailer briefly surfaced online earlier this week, confirming an iPad and iPhone release. [via PocketGamer]

* New information continues to emerge on a weekly basis for Beamdog and Overhaul Games forthcoming Enhanced Edition release of Baldurs Gate, for iPad and PC/Mac platforms. Both from BaldursGate.com and from the Twitter feed of Trent Oster, Beamdog founder and BioWare vet. The latest news reveals that the summer iPad launch will carry a sub-$10 price tag. This will presumably also hold true for the Enhanced Edition release of Baldurs Gate 2 later this year as well. The mobile version of both releases will sport newly redesigned user interfaces that take advantage of the touch interfafce.

* Rovios latest bird-flinging game of destruction and pig-killing, Angry Birds Space, hit the ground running when it launched, an update on the games official Twitter feed confirms. In less than three days, the latest Angry Birds outing saw more than 10 million downloads. You definitely ought to grab it if you havent yet done so; the iPhone version costs $0.99, the iPad version costs $2.99, and the Android version is 100 percent free.

* Temple Run, the ridiculously popular free-to-download iOS running game from Imangi Studios, is finally up and running on Android devices. The reason its here in the headlines section and not in the weekly recommended buys section is simple: its broken. Many players are reporting that the game, available through Google Play, are running into compatibility issues and bugs that render it unplayable. To get a sense of things, just check out the Temple Run Facebook page. Well be keeping an eye on this story; hopefully Temple Run will claim its rightful place as a recommended (free) buy next week.

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Digital Blend: Apple products have a presence in more than half of all U.S. households

BOSTON (CBS) Change-counting machines seem as quaint as dialing a rotary telephone, but theyre making a comeback with some banks whose executives see them as a way to get people into branches and snag new customers.

TD Bank, the states fourth-largest by assets, has coin counting machines in 1,113 of its branches, which range from Maine to Florida.

About 97 of those are in Massachusetts.

Every time TD opens a new branch, it puts in a coin machine, named Penny Arcade.

Most branches have one machine for adults and another closer to the ground for children.

Why is TD so keen on installing Penny in its branches?

The coin machines bring in new business.

In 2011, TD opened 85,212 new accounts by turning non-customers into bank members following a Penny Arcade experience.

Using the machines is free for bank members, while non-customers pay a 6 percent fee. The bank started installing the coin machines in its branches in 1999.

They are very popular, Marion Colombo, TD Banks senior vice president of retail banking told the Boston Business Journal.

See more here:
Banks Use Coin Counting Machines To Attract Customers