With April Fool’s day in full swing, one of technology’s greatest contributors has cooked up a joke that almost seems real.
When users of Google’s Gmail logged in this morning, Google notified them of a new extension of Gmal called “Gmail Motion.” The proposed idea would turn your laptop into an Xbox Kinect of sorts, as you would use your body motions to determine what Gmail would do.
For example:
"To open a message make a movement as if you were opening an envelope. To reply, simply point backward with your thumb," the company says in a video demonstration of the product, which seems to be a riff on Microsoft's Kinect gaming system. "To reply all, use both hands. To send a message, lick a stamp and place it down."
According to the Gmail Motion webpage, “Gmail Motion uses your computer’s built-in webcam and Google’s patented spatial tracking technology to detect your movements and translate them into meaningful characters and commands. Movements are designed to be simple and intuitive for people of all skill levels.”
As a company known for their April Fool’s day pranks, this one might have caused the most confusion. Google released a drawing of all the responses Gmail would recognize, and provided pictures of “beta testers” making ridiculous signs with their hands.
While the idea might not be a bad one for the future, this iteration of user control will have to remain an April Fool’s joke for this year.
