·        Google Romance

·        Microsoft buys OpenOffice.org

·        China buys Google

·        UK government to shut down GSM networks

·        The cure for information overload

Google Romance, still in beta, is a place where you can all types of romantic details and using Google’s trademark Soulmate Search, you can get back search results that theoretically will include someone you actually love.  Google will then send both of you on a trademark Contextual Date, all paid for by Google including the delivery of relevant ads that Google’s advertising partners think will produce the dating results you expect.

For the right price, Microsoft’s Bill Gates personally bought the leading open source desktop project OpenOffice.org.  Although the exact amount was undisclosed, it was reputed to be in the billions.  It was said that he “was sick and tired of open source eating away at his profits”. 

This recent acquisition put an end to the nuisance Open Office has created to Microsoft’s Office Suite.  Open Office will form part of Gates’ growing acquisition, according to the story, “erstwhile competitors, a considerable number of prominent politicians, and a few small governments.”

A visit to the OpenOffice.org website carried no news of the purchase.  They must be keeping the mum about the subject.

Another acquisition story is that of China buying a controlling stake in Google.  The Register reported that the Chinese Ministry of Information has acquired 140m shares of Google’s Class B stocks.

A message in Google’s Canteen Menu Weblog read: “Gee it’s raining in the mountain view and my cats hungry so we thought we’d better update you on our corporate finances.  We’ve sold out to China.”

Part of the purchase included NASA’s AMES Research Center in California whom Google has a partnership with.  US President Bush uses the AMES landing pad when he visits North California and will continue to use it even under Chinese ownership.

For readers who have friends and relatives in the UK, please don’t tell them that the UK government is going to shut down GSM networks by April 1, 2007.  The Mobile Gazette reported that the frequencies of the GSM networks will be re-used for gambling terminals or kiosks on every street and for use with a new citizen surveillance program.  UK mobile users will need to switch to a 3G handset before April 1, 2007.

And the best story yet – the cure for information overload!  I actually took a look at it and it did cure my information overload.  I have to hand it to librarian-bloggers to come up with it.  I mean who better to think up with such a cure than information professionals.  If you too suffer from information overload, visit http://machinereadable.blogspot.com/2006/04/cure-for-information-overload.html.  I know the URL is long but you won’t regret it once you get to the site.

DISCLAIMER:  Not one piece of information in the above mentioned stories are true.  They were all written on April 1, 2006, April Fools Day.  I’m pretty sure these stories will go the rounds of emails and be passed on as true.  So when you receive them, you know what to do.

On another note, have a safe holy week ahead.