The Joke’s on Google
Whether you fell for this year’s widespread April Fools’ joke or not, Google’s “latest feature” Gmail Motion, someone else may be getting the last laugh, according to TechSpot. The University of Southern California’s aptly named Institute of Creative Technologies decided to pick up where Google left off by introducing a program that actually makes it possible to compose and respond to emails all with the sleight of hand. Borrowing the foundation of Gmail Motion and the capabilities of the Microsoft Kinect, known in the mainstream for allowing you to dance your way into your favorite video game, ICT demoed their version later on Friday.
Even before ICT released their response to Gmail Motion, it should have come as no surprise that in this day and age the existence of such a program is really no joke at all. Google’s day of fun played on all of our desires to have the latest and, at times, most outlandish technologies; but one could easily find a situation in which Gmail Motion, or something like it, could be more than just fun. Individuals with a handicap inhibiting them from using a keyboard or mouse could certainly benefit from a program that would allow them to create their own commands to initiate computer tasks. So thanks Google, it looks like this April Fools’ joke was worth more than a few laughs.