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Brad Adrian
05-07-2003, 11:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://msn.com.com/2100-1103_2-999509.html' target='_blank'>http://msn.com.com/2100-1103_2-999509.html</a><br /><br /></div>Somebody PLEASE tell me that this is a joke! AKBishop sent in this news item from the MSN Web site about a new experimental portable toilet (a.k.a. "port-a-john," "port-a-potty") under development by Microsoft that features -- get this -- full Internet connectivity!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/iloo.jpg" /><br /><br />"MSN UK is creating what Microsoft calls the world's first Internet outhouse, or iLoo, complete with flat-screen plasma display, wireless keyboard and broadband access. MSN UK spokesman Matthew Whittingham described the portable toilet as the first 'WWW.C,' referring to the term W.C., or water closet."<br /><br />I can think of about a gazillion jokes to make about this, but all you have to do is read the article to bust a gut laughing! Some of the most notable quotes are [my comments in italics]:<br /><br />"MSN UK is negotiating with toilet paper manufacturers for special rolls with Web addresses, or URLs, printed on them."<br /><i>What Webmaster wouldn't be proud to have his URL end up you-know-where?</i><br /><br />"Reading in the loo, or the bog, is a traditional English pastime..."<br /><i>Hmmmm. I always thought that was soccer.</i><br /><br />"This is another demonstration of Microsoft moving into new product areas to expand its revenue base..."<br /><i>Is there NO aspect of our lives Microsoft isn't involved in?</i><br /><br />"Davies also raised concerns about the long lines. 'Like my father always said: Get in, get it out, get out,' he said."<br /><i>Okay, that's just crude.</i><br /><br />"Security is another issue. Because of the expensive hardware inside, Microsoft plans to post a guard to protect the iLoo."<br /><i>Hopefully, the guard will be OUTside the loo.</i><br /><br />The sad thing is, somebody got paid to think this thing up. Or, as one of my friends at Microsoft paraphrased, this was a case of "Money for nothing, and your cheeks for free!"<br /><br />Let the crude jokes, puns and double entendre begin!

Abba Zabba
05-07-2003, 11:29 AM
Pretty sure this is a spoff :!:

But thinking about it that would be kind of awesome in some ways. Maybe they could be used as wifi access points :?

alan williams
05-07-2003, 12:33 PM
Looks more like an Apple product to me. :?

Unreal32
05-07-2003, 01:09 PM
Finally, Microsoft products where they belong! In the crapper! :lol:

WillyG
05-07-2003, 01:11 PM
Good thing they dont come with a webcam and microphone.
I bet it you have to call Microsoft to "ACTIVATE" it before you can do your work....no matter how much you need to do it: "You are moving forward in the queue, please hold the line. The toilet seat will open as soon as you has activated" :lol:

Lets hope there is no bugs in the product.

cherring
05-07-2003, 01:15 PM
rotflmao. I read an article like this, without pictures, so I thought it was a porta internet station, like a mobile public telephone that is set up at events where there isn't any infrastructure. I didn't think it was a real porta potty.

Ed Hansberry
05-07-2003, 01:20 PM
I wonder if MS will be recycling the Madonna "Ray of Light" song from the Windows XP commercial when you flush?

I just hope it as automatic updates. Nothing worse than being in that situation and the equipment has to be updated and rebooted before it works properly.

doogald
05-07-2003, 01:26 PM
Man, the last thing the world needs is a public toilet that encourages the user to take longer than he/she already does...

cessquill
05-07-2003, 01:43 PM
We play football over here :wink:

jgrnt1
05-07-2003, 01:48 PM
The reading room goes portable.

Actually, you get 30 flushes before you have to activate. It's also voice activated --

"Flush, please, HAL."

"I'm sorry, Dave. I can't do that."

If the voice activation doesn't work, do you really want to be touching the keyboard?

Duncan
05-07-2003, 01:53 PM
I would assume this is genuine. After all the internet enabled park bench, which MSN UK installed in a nearby town, is very much a reality!

rfischer
05-07-2003, 02:00 PM
This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Data Dump".....

Sorry, couldn't resist! :D

Bob Anderson
05-07-2003, 02:03 PM
This brings a whole new meaning to "upload" and "download".

WillyG
05-07-2003, 02:10 PM
This also gives a new meaning to Norton CleanSweep

jgrnt1
05-07-2003, 02:10 PM
Following rfischer into the toilet -- Do you need a separate utility to do a "wipe?" If so, does it do a US Department of Defense security wipe, repeating it seven times?

shekondar
05-07-2003, 02:12 PM
Wonder what happens when it BSOD's...

WillyG
05-07-2003, 02:13 PM
Does it come with biometric security, like the iPAQ flagship? If so, what body part are scanned?
Picture this: You must calibrate your butt before you can lock/unlock the door

GregWard
05-07-2003, 02:17 PM
I would assume this is genuine. After all the internet enabled park bench, which MSN UK installed in a nearby town, is very much a reality!

It's just been featured on BBC2's "Working Lunch" Programme - so I guess it must be!!! :D

jgrnt1
05-07-2003, 02:21 PM
The saddest thing about this thread is that we all think it's hilarious, but if Leno or Letterman delivered these jokes, there would be five geeks in the audience who would laugh.

Adam
05-07-2003, 02:31 PM
Having just spent three days unsuccessfully upgrading a Windows server, can I just say that it makes a pleasant change for MS to be involved with something that doesn't require pissing in the wind (if you'll pardon the vernacular)?

Sven Johannsen
05-07-2003, 02:34 PM
Just brings to mind, that as far as technology has taken us, we are still not a paperless society.

Unreal32
05-07-2003, 03:22 PM
This is old news, man... hasn't anyone seen the great article at The Onion (http://www.theonion.com/onion3536/e_toilet.html)? :lol: "Just log on, log out, and log off. It's that simple."

Steven Cedrone
05-07-2003, 03:36 PM
The first time someone gets pi$$ed off, I wonder what they will pi$$ on... :roll:

Steve

Jonathan1
05-07-2003, 03:38 PM
Reminds me of a King of the Hill episode. Dale has the port o John with all of the luxuries of the home toilet that he towed around on the back of his truck. Didn't have internet access though. :)

rfischer
05-07-2003, 03:54 PM
This may lead to some new work for us techies. Now you'll have to be an MCSE in order to land the job as the guy who drives around emptying the Port-O-Potties.

That must be what my firend meant when he said he "Took some crappy admin job"

Steven Cedrone
05-07-2003, 04:07 PM
"Crap...I have to reboot the toilet...Now where the heck is the reset button" :wink:

Steve

rfischer
05-07-2003, 04:09 PM
"Crap...I have to reboot the toilet...Now where the heck is the reset button" :wink:

Steve

Uh Oh. Did you get the "Brown Screen of Death" again?

Steven Cedrone
05-07-2003, 04:20 PM
Hmmm....I wonder if it will automatically reboot/reset after a flush (And flush the browser cache as well. I certainly wouldn't want to know what the person in there before me was searching for)...

O.K., I'm not going to post to this thread anymore... :wink:

Steve

Ed Hansberry
05-07-2003, 04:27 PM
Wonder what happens when it BSOD's...
That is called a core dump.

Kati Compton
05-07-2003, 04:28 PM
It's "real", in that it isn't a spoof. Unless it's *very* widespread. But this isn't going to happen - at least for sanitary reasons. I'm not touching that keyboard! I hope they at least block porn....

http://www.msnbc.com/news/908511.asp

Foo Fighter
05-07-2003, 04:46 PM
Dear God! I wouldn't touch that keyboard for all the gold in Fort Knox! :pukeface:

Jhokur2k
05-07-2003, 04:52 PM
They would need to make it a membrane keyboard, and make the whole toilet enclosure sanitize itself like the ones in San Fran... there's no way I'd use it, that's for sure.

Ainvar
05-07-2003, 04:58 PM
God I can barely let myself use a normal public restroom without wondering what dirty bastard used it before and if he even washed his hands afterwards. Now you want to put a mouse and keyboard in one of the dirtiest things out there........ I just had the displeasure of going to musismidtown this past weekend and had to use there port-a-potties and let me tell you all I hope they do with the ones from there is just burn them/melt them down and then just bury them. I am no clean freak where I wear latex gloves everywhere but having a job at a medical building and doing IS work here and seeing some of the things that can happen if you dont wash your hands make me really really really hope this is a hoax and a bad one at that.

Kati Compton
05-07-2003, 05:50 PM
Here's what my father said upon reading the story:


Do you suppose they wipe their hard drive regularly?

Maybe they need Norton's Anti Bacterial (NAB) in addition to the Norton's
Anti Virus.

They could have a small methane driven generator to conserve power... or
maybe just use Wind power?

I think maybe under the circumstances, a Net Cam would be too much
information.

Jonathon Watkins
05-07-2003, 08:32 PM
I went out with my friends for a drink.:beer:
I drank too much. :drinking:

I really needed the loo. :crazyeyes:
I really, really needed the loo :multi:
I went to the nearest iLoo, but it experienced a hardware failure.:microwave:
I went to the inventer of the iLoo to let him knw what I thought of it. :bangin:

pkinetics
05-07-2003, 08:48 PM
Come to think of it, this reminds me of the Dana Carvey movie Opportunity Knocks.

Dana's character comes up with the idea of putting one of those news things on the mens room doors.

jack in the box
05-07-2003, 09:10 PM
A toilet with windows, that should keep the tourists amused. 8O

Hyperluminal
05-07-2003, 09:11 PM
"Wireless keyboard can be used on lap." 8O
Are they crazy? As if just touching the keyboard isn't enough, they think you'll use it on your lap?!?! On the toilet? Something's really wrong with that...

Hey, Doogald and Alan! Good to see you here! :D

Kati Compton
05-07-2003, 09:15 PM
"Wireless keyboard can be used on lap." 8O
Are they crazy? As if just touching the keyboard isn't enough, they think you'll use it on your lap?!?! On the toilet? Something's really wrong with that...


I was thinking the same thing myself.... Ewww.

Iznot Gold
05-07-2003, 09:18 PM
Hmmm as a Brit, I'm very fond of using my PDA in the loo to read my AvantGo channels but to enable me to update my PDA in the iloo - will it come with ActiveStink???

David

Hyperluminal
05-07-2003, 09:42 PM
Oh, I'm sure a place like that will activeSTINK more than you can imagine... :lol:

doogald
05-08-2003, 12:38 AM
Hey, Doogald and Alan! Good to see you here! :D

Well, I finally got a PocketPC...

Hyperluminal
05-08-2003, 02:44 AM
Recently, because I thought you had one for a while?
Anyway, nice to see you all here... :)

ombu
05-08-2003, 04:47 AM
Friday 4:00 pm, lot of work, look at your Outlook inbox, grrr :evil: have to read everything and reply almost everything, what an end for a week.

Well, you go out for dinner, yep, you and your wife need some free time too, and the first thing you find is a nice smiling girl behind a PC checking on display your resv. Yep, Windows and maybe Excel, or Access.
...
There's some wine left and you're so happy ... you're wife calls the baby-sitter just to tell you'll be back an hour later than planned, hmm, smartphone running PPC2002PE 8) , her present last birthday ehh... 8)
...
The bill is here and you take out your brand new PPC and use Tipster, no chance for a wrong number, the waiter is impressed (you think so). 8O
...
Home, sweet home, everything O.K., the kids are sleeping for a while now and the baby-sitter is surfing the net on your desktop :? . You have to pay her, remember? Oops, no cash and you don't know right now your check-account balance, no trouble, MSN gets it straight into MS Money in a second or so, broadband is one of the best things in the world, right?
...
So the day is over, relax, brush your teeth ... hmm, MS, you ask yourself, is there a place in my life out of MS's reach?

Well, NOT ANY MORE!!! :lol:

bdegroodt
05-13-2003, 12:59 AM
Seems MSFT wasn't happy with the publicity it already gets and this was a "joke" ala April Fools in May. (http://rss.com.com/2100-1041_3-1001109.html?type=pt&part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news)

davidspalding
05-15-2003, 10:54 AM
Microsoft is having a hard time keeping their story straight.

http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58836,00.html

Gotta love a company so big that some of the left hands have no idea what the right hands are up to (or down into ;) ).