Apparently, Microsoft divisions don't talk amongst themselves very well. As this story shows, they couldn't decide whether to say that the iLoo was a hoax or simply a crappy idea (pun definitely intended).

As for why the concept was flushed, company officials seem to be mum, but I'm sure it has nothing at all to do with being held up to public ridicule like they were - at least among people who have half a clue about technology.

This comes to us from the Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should Department:

Microsoft seems to be under the strange notion that people might spontaneously combust if they take a 2 minute break from checking their e-mail or stock prices. To rescue mankind from this horrible fate, they have developed an internet enabled portable toilet. Worse than the fact that somebody actually came up with this idea is the fact that somebody in upper management at Microsoft said something to the effect of, "You know, that's not half bad!" But there is a major flaw in their logic. Realistically, anybody who can't be away from their computer long enough to use the can probably doesn't ever leave the house anyway and, therefore, has no need of a portable toilet.

On the other hand, the idea of Microsoft's software and toilet paper in close proximity does have a certain ironic appeal.

My Linux box is now back online! If you don't know the history of this, you can read about it here.

After getting entirely too frustrated with not being able to use the Linux part of my computer for anything meaningful, I embarked on a short and not-very-exhaustive search for a new modem. I found an eBay auction for the exact model that came preinstalled when I bought the box and which worked flawlessly with Linux. A couple days and one good bid later, I was the owner of a new modem. It arrived yesterday but I didn't have time to install it until just now.

Oy! I really hate scummy programs that install themselves on your computer with neither your approval nor even your knowledge.

How I used the occasion of a flaky PC problem to begin my journey into Linux. Here's the story.