Christmas Light Switch A Web Hoax

Grok Headline matches for Christmas Light Switch A Web Hoax

The Web Controlled Christmas Light Hoax

The Web Controlled Christmas Light Hoax 12/27/2004 07:35 PM
A few weeks ago, when we had our story about Christmas lights causing problems with broadband connections, apparently Alek Komarnitsky stopped by here at Techdirt to tell everyone in the comments that he had set up his 17,000 Christmas lights so they could be turned on and off via the web. I had forgotten about this until earlier this morning when a friend instant messaged me to tell me he's become addicted to the site and had been turning the lights on and off regularly. Well, it turns out my friend was taken in by a practical joke. The lights were real but the we b-cam and web-based control were a hoax that's now getting a bit of press attention. What's interesting, though, is that from the details it sounds like the hoax was more technically complicated than actually setting up a system to really do what he claimed it would do. Still, it's somewhat amazing that no one figured it out until now.

Designer: Christmas Lights on Web a Hoax
(AP)

Designer: Christmas Lights on Web a Hoax
(AP) 12/28/2004 01:11 PM
AP - A man who boasted to reporters around the world that his Web site allowed strangers to turn his outdoor Christmas lights off and on admitted Monday it was an elaborate hoax designed, he said, to spread holiday cheer.

Those Internet-controlled Christmas
Lights? A hoax

Those Internet-controlled Christmas
Lights? A hoax 12/28/2004 02:59 AM
Engadget Dec 28 2004 6:15AM GMT

Utility Unamused by Holiday Light Hoax
(AP)

Utility Unamused by Holiday Light Hoax
(AP) 01/22/2004 02:10 AM
AP - A radio ad warning that listeners needed to take down their Christmas lights or face fines was meant as a joke.

On/off Wireless Light Switch

On/off Wireless Light Switch 04/14/2005 10:02 AM

Tobias Wong has designed the on/off switch: A wireless, metal-plate wall switch that can be placed anywhere and can control any light fixture in your house by attaching its remote component. The range on the Lucite-boxed switch is 100 ft and it's available now at gnr8 for just $119, shipping included. It'll make an interesting conversation piece, if nothing else. I have no idea, by the way, if it's powered by a battery or more like the self-powered switches we mentioned in February.

Catalog Page ($119, in stock) [gnr8]

Wall-less Light Switch

Wall-less Light Switch 06/17/2005 06:18 PM

We've had a couple of similar remote controlled wall switches— our electrician calls them "garbage" and we tend to agree with him, thus far. However, this one is supposed to be extra fancy with some sort of lucite enclosure and hopefully it won't be turned on and off automatically by things like the microwave turning on, WiFi traffic, or the dog farting in the other room.

Of f The Wall [CoolHunting]

USB Christmas tree light

USB Christmas tree light 11/19/2003 01:40 AM
We'd thought that the USB gadget madness had largely come to an end, but we were sorely mistaken. The latest USB-powered gadget to surface (and we are not making this up) is a USB Christmas tree light that glows in six different colors. Read [Thanks, James]...

passing up an opportunity to go home for
Christmas, so that his colleague could
spend Christmas with his wife and child

passing up an opportunity to go home for
Christmas, so that his colleague could
spend Christmas with his wife and child 12/21/2003 08:35 AM
offers to stay there .. Home News Tribune .. feel good story

thnt.com/thnt/story/0,21282,871918,00.html
track this site | 4 links

Light-emitting diodes, or LEDS, look set
to replace light bulbs

Light-emitting diodes, or LEDS, look set
to replace light bulbs 04/18/2005 08:41 AM
Canadian Press via Canada.com Apr 18 2005 12:09PM GMT

Man Happier About Switch To Mac Than
Switch To Christianity

Man Happier About Switch To Mac Than
Switch To Christianity 06/15/2004 10:01 AM

Which one do you want? Light or Dark?
Light...but uhm...*Jen attacks*

Which one do you want? Light or Dark?
Light...but uhm...*Jen attacks* 02/14/2004 05:27 PM
Jen tried to shove a chocolate down my throat. LOL...she made a good attempt. Keyword being attempt and she wasn't...

Red Light For Green Light Gadget

Red Light For Green Light Gadget 11/05/2003 08:39 AM
CBS News Nov 5 2003 8:19AM ET

This is a Hoax - or is it?

This is a Hoax - or is it? 08/17/2004 01:37 AM

Direct and Related Links for 'This is a Hoax - or is it?'

“The Museum of Hoaxes was established in 1997 in order to promote knowledge about the phenomenon of hoaxes. Why do we (the staff at the museum) care about hoaxes, and why do we think other people should care also? One reason is that we live in an era in which reality and unreality are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish, and the only reliable way to sort out what is real from what is unreal is…

Is it Real or a Hoax?

Is it Real or a Hoax? 09/17/2004 04:01 PM

How the Microsoft Hoax Took Off

How the Microsoft Hoax Took Off 06/29/2004 05:45 AM
Is Bill Gates offering big bucks to track your e-mail? Jonathon Keats from Wired magazine is on the trail of the most forwarded hoax in Internet history.

Toothing was a hoax!

Toothing was a hoax! 04/04/2005 11:59 PM
David Pescovitz: Earlier today, Jim Hanas, co-creator of Boring Boring, published a post on his blog asking "What ever happened to Toothing?," last year's UK craze where commuters hooked up random sexual encounters via Bluetooth-enabled cellphones. (Wired News story here . Reuters article here. BBC article here.) Surprisingly, Toothy Toothing, the source for many of those original articles, responded to Jim's inquiry. Turns out, Toothy (aka Ste Curran) made the whole thing up. (Or so he claims!):

All we did was register a forum (which has now been taken down by the service provider, but we have a backup) and fill it with fictional posts by fictional Toothing ’sceners. A week later, we had what appeared to be a vibrant UK Toothing community all ready to roll, and I sent the link off to Gizmodo, a gadget blog. They reported it (you can see that first story here, with a credit at the end to ‘S’, my super-subtle pseudonym). Everyone else linked to / blogged / ripped off their story. Things started to roll, and we became a ludicrous, implausible meme. In turn, that brought Real People to our forum. Others created forums for their localities - Sweden, Denmark, Italy, whatever.

A few days later, the print media requests started coming. We kept a record at the start of where we were mentioned, but there were soon too many to record in full. There are hundreds of tiny anecdotes, though. I had to write Penthouse-letters-page style sexual adventure stories for a full page article and interview in The Telegraph.

Link

hot abercrombie hoax

hot abercrombie hoax 04/19/2004 01:56 PM
cam exposes the truth. i categorically deny that i'm responsible.

Another Net Hoax for the Ages

Another Net Hoax for the Ages 06/28/2004 10:06 AM

Mercury News: `Pla in Layne' and Odin Soli: an Internet hoax. Now the person behind Layne has come forward and admitted that it was all an elaborate hoax. Odin Soli -- a 35-year-old male entrepreneur and writer, married with two children and living near St. Paul, Minn. -- said he created Layne as an experiment in ``interactive fiction.''

Remember the Kaycee Nicole story. This one has a weirdly familiar ring. One lesson: Don't believe everything you read, especially when you can't confirm the identity of the writer.

PREVIEW: Is It a Hoax?

PREVIEW: Is It a Hoax? 09/10/2004 03:09 PM

overstated: hot abercrombie hoax

overstated: hot abercrombie hoax 04/20/2004 07:17 AM
"Hot Abercrombie Chick" hoax .. Blogdex is being gamed .. overstated

overstated.net/04/04/19-hot-abercrombie-hoax.asp
track this site | 7 links

Tungsten T5 Pics Were a Hoax

Tungsten T5 Pics Were a Hoax 09/01/2004 08:04 AM

Apparently all that Tungsten T5 business over at 1src was a hoax, and the site's editor Joel (no relation) seems to be taking it a little hard. Buck up, camper. You got duped. It happens. We ain't mad at you.

In my opinion, it's more fun to run the images and have people tear them apart, anyway. It's like open-source reporting; a thousand eyes are going to be able to find the flaws in the fake images a lot better than one (laser accident).

Read - Editorial: The T5 Hoax [1SRC]

Related
PalmOne Tungsten T5 and E2 Rumors, Pics [Gizmodo]

Attack of the Hoax Blogs

Attack of the Hoax Blogs 07/29/2004 09:55 AM
In today's NYT, my Wired News colleague Daniel Terdiman writes about the growing trend in blogs that purport to be real, but are in fact hoaxes (and yes, he knows they're "weblogs" or "blogs," not "Web Logs," but c'est la editorial policy, mon cher). Link

S.F. Man Says Beheading Video Is a Hoax
(AP)

S.F. Man Says Beheading Video Is a Hoax
(AP) 08/07/2004 08:44 AM
AP - A video aired Saturday that purportedly showed an American being decapitated in Iraq was a hoax.

Y2K: Hoax, Or Averted Disaster?

Y2K: Hoax, Or Averted Disaster? 01/05/2005 08:43 AM

Hoax --> Operation Take one for the
Country

Hoax --> Operation Take one for the
Country 04/29/2004 01:32 PM
Following up on this earlier BoingBoing post, BoingBoing reader buddha says:

Single Southern Guy calls out the Operation Take One For The Country crew, claiming the whole thing is a hoax. Why? The radio station, DJs, and broadcast company involved in the interview transcribed on the OTOFTC site don't exist.

Link

US beheading is an internet hoax

US beheading is an internet hoax 08/07/2004 12:11 PM
Al Jazeera Aug 7 2004 3:34PM GMT

Portis out? No. Just an Internet hoax

Portis out? No. Just an Internet hoax 09/11/2004 07:06 AM
Charlotte.com - Sat Sep 11, 10:11 am GMT

MP3Concept: A Mac MP3 virus or hoax?

MP3Concept: A Mac MP3 virus or hoax? 04/09/2004 04:07 PM
MP3Concept: A Mac MP3 virus or hoax?

Four arrested over hoax photos

Four arrested over hoax photos 05/15/2004 09:54 AM
Four soldiers are arrested and questioned over the Iraq abuse picture scandal, the MoD reveals.

London man charged for hoax e-mail

London man charged for hoax e-mail 01/03/2005 05:56 AM
The Star Online Jan 3 2005 8:42AM GMT

Hackarmy sinks to new low with kidnap
hoax

Hackarmy sinks to new low with kidnap
hoax 08/04/2004 09:40 AM

ABCNEWS.com : S.F. Man Says Beheading
Video Is a Hoax

ABCNEWS.com : S.F. Man Says Beheading
Video Is a Hoax 08/09/2004 08:21 PM
S.F. Man Says Beheading Video Is a Hoax .. hoax of him beingbeheaded

abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040807_1021.html
track this site | 2 links

Hoax 'quake dead' e-mails sent

Hoax 'quake dead' e-mails sent 01/02/2005 04:26 AM
Police are investigating a series of hoax e-mails sent to those with loved ones missing after the Asian tsunami.

Man, 40, admits tsunami hoax emails

Man, 40, admits tsunami hoax emails 01/03/2005 08:23 AM
Death notices sent to relatives of missing people

Man charged for hoax tsunami emails

Man charged for hoax tsunami emails 01/03/2005 03:05 AM
iafrica.com Jan 3 2005 6:32AM GMT

Soldier arrested over hoax photos

Soldier arrested over hoax photos 05/18/2004 04:07 PM
A soldier is arrested in connection with faked Iraqi torture pictures published in the Daily Mirror.

Mother Says U.S. Beheading Video Is a
Hoax

Mother Says U.S. Beheading Video Is a
Hoax 08/07/2004 10:12 AM
Reuters via Wired News Aug 7 2004 1:44PM GMT

'Control Aibo by PSP' Was a Hoax

'Control Aibo by PSP' Was a Hoax 04/14/2005 01:25 PM

It looks like the big 'Control Aibo by PSP' story was just a hoax, perpetrated by Japan's famous gaming magazine, Famitsu.

Bl og post with Magazine Scan [LivedoorJP]

Arrest Over Cruel Tsunami Hoax

Arrest Over Cruel Tsunami Hoax 01/02/2005 01:56 PM
CBS News Jan 2 2005 5:06PM GMT
Grok Description matches for Christmas Light Switch A Web Hoax
GrokA matches for Christmas Light Switch A Web Hoax

Christmas Light Switch A Web Hoax

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