April Fools reruns: Google updates WiFi-toilet concept

If you're going to launch a killer April Fools' Day joke, you might as well put the full effort behind it. And that's exactly what they've done at Google. Apologies to the folks at the Googleplex for breaking the joke a day early but... c'mon, you didn't really expect us to fall for this one again, did you?

Let's play along for a second, shall we? Tomorrow, Google will announce Google TISP (Beta) - a free in-home wireless broadband service that installs in, well, your toilet. Of course, it's vacuum-sealed to prevent water damage. And, certainly, you can have it professionally installed - but please try to make sure your toilet is unoccupied at the time of installation.

For those who might recognize it, the same gag was used on April Fools Day 2007 - but the images (but not the press release) have all been updated with 2010 dates.  The company is known for its elaborate April Fools Day gags - there's even a section of Wikipedia devoted to the history of them.

The TISP gag is a pretty elaborate one, complete with a hilarious FAQ, a "no way!" schematic of how it works (see below) and full-fledged press release, dated April 1, 2007. In fact, you've got to love the gratuitous quote from Google exec Marissa Mayer:

I couldn't be more excited about, and am only slightly grossed out by, this remarkable new product. I firmly believe TiSP will be a breakthrough product, particularly for those users who, like Larry himself, do much of their best thinking in the bathroom.

It was a good gag, Google - and, again, apologies for breaking it a day early. There was no way I was going to want to review this product tomorrow.