Keep warm using intestines and The Force.

As has become tradition, Internet-based companies and web celebrities (webbrities?) answered Halloween's treat with April Fools tricks. Some favorites from 2009...

Think Geek

Online retailer Think Geek has developed a reputation over the last few years as one of the best pranksters in the Tubes. Each year, they list a number of fake products, complete with full descriptions and photos. Response to their pixellated tie was so great that they actually created and sold that item. I'm still waiting for their "auto-donation to your enemy" alarm clock -- talk about a sure way to force your booty outta bed!

And 2009 is no different. The gem of the crop this year? The Tauntaun Sleeping Bag!

This high-quality sleeping bag looks just like a Tauntaun, complete with saddle, internal intestines and glowing lightsaber zipper pull. Now when your kids tell you their favorite Star Wars movie is "Attack of the Clones" you can nestle the wee-ones snug in simulated Tauntaun fur while regaling them with the amazing tale of "Empire Strikes Back".

Use the glowing lightsaber zipper pull on the Tauntaun sleeping bag to illustrate how Han Solo saved Luke Skywalker from certain death in the freezing climate of Hoth by slitting open the belly of a dead Tauntaun and placing Luke inside the stinking (but warm) carcass. If your kids don't change their tune on which Star Wars film is the greatest ever, you can do your best Jar Jar impression until they repent.

EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sent out an Onion-esque, sarcasm-laden version of their newsletter, including these gems:

AP Sues Artist for Being Unable to Draw From Memory

The AP has brought a suit against the artist Shepard Fairey for calling himself a political artist while being unable to draw a realistic likeness of public figures from memory.

Fairey had previously sued AP to establish his fair use rights to an AP news photograph he used as the basis for his iconic "Hope" poster of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. AP has now filed counter-suit, claiming Fairey has no right to produce posters in support of politicians that he cannot draw without reference.

"Mr Fairey claims he is an artist with the right to comment on public issues such as the presidential election," said AP attorney Skip Stones. "But Mr. Fairey apparently requires a photo to work from in order to create a lifelike image of a public figure such as Mr. Obama. Clearly, he has no business engaging in graphic political commentary of any kind." . . .

Click here for more on Shepard Fairey and the AP.

The EFF also announced a new "look" for their newsletter:

As part of our policy to keep on the "frontier" of exciting new Internet developments, starting next week we'll be sending a special "effktr" edition to all subscribers from whose personal information we can derive their Twitter
accounts and/or cellphone numbers. Effktr has all the news and analysis you expect from EFFector, but with most of the vowels taken out and the remaining text compressed to 140 characters or less. To give you an idea of what to expect, here's what our "beta" effktr readers received last week:

OMG EFF GREP FBI, TSA, NSL! NIX TOR JAIL +! NIX CELL LOG GANK! CNET AX SGHN! AXL N /- WTF? WRNR DMCA KIDS LOL! NO MIL CYBER! ATT GET ACTA!

Our new service is opt-out: if you'd like to not receive our new format, please email "tl;dr" to april1@eff.org by the end of today.

Google

Google loves to take part in April Fools fun, however their attempts have always been hit or miss, often winding up more corny than funny. This year, for example, they announced CADIE, an artificial intelligence. Overall? Corny. But thanks to their typical thorough development of the idea, a couple of the sub-parts of the CADIE idea are winners.

First, CADIE's blog is just... genius. Second, CADIE allows for Gmail Autopilot:

The easiest email could possibly be.

As more and more everyday communication takes place over email, lots of people have complained about how hard it is to read and respond to every message. This is because they actually read and respond to all their messages.

Slick Deals

Full Auto machine guns on sale

• Buy these guns now before Obama bans them again!!!
• Got a saw for the kids.