Sit and surf: MSN UK tests portable potty (Introducing the iLoo)

CNet ^ | May 2, 2003 | Joe Wilcox

[Timesink]

Sit and surf: MSN UK tests portable potty
By Joe Wilcox
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 2, 2003, 10:44 AM PT
http://news.com.com/2100-1041-999509.html

How far will MSN go to get new subscribers? Apparently to the portable potty at your local summer concert or festival.

MSN UK is creating what Microsoft calls the world's first Internet outhouse, or iLoo, complete with flat-screen plasma display, wireless keyboard and broadband access. MSN UK spokesman Matthew Whittingham described the portable toilet as the first "WWW.C," referring to the term W.C., or water closet.

"This is another demonstration of Microsoft moving into new product areas to expand its revenue base," said IDC analyst Roger Kay.

The iLoo isn't Microsoft's first attempt at a festival-oriented public PC. "We've had the world's first-ever cyber park bench we launched two years ago," Whittingham said. Like iLoo, the park bench served up Internet access.

The portable lavatory is being tested and will debut at festivals around Great Britain this summer. Microsoft plans to build a single prototype MSN iLoo that will travel the festival circuit, and may build more if the response to the pioneering potty warrants it, Whittingham said.

MSN UK is negotiating with toilet paper manufacturers for special rolls with Web addresses, or URLs, printed on them.

"Reading in the loo, or the bog, is a traditional English pastime," said Jeremy Davies, an analyst with U.K.-based market researcher Context. "We've all seen the magazine racks, loo paper with jokes and cartoons on the walls in toilets up and down the land. You've got to hand it to the creative--and uniquely English--minds at Microsoft."

From the outside, the iLoo is little different from other portable toilets. But inside, Microsoft serves up accoutrements that might rival some iLoo users' home PC setups. A Windows XP-powered computer resides under the sink with connection to 6-channel surround audio. A flat-screen plasma display swivels out from the side of the cabin, and a waterproof wireless keyboard can be placed on the lap for comfort.

The iLoo is equipped with 802.11b wireless networking for providing broadband Internet access. The toilet uses vacuum suction to dispose of waste.

"It's a bit of fun, and it allows younger age groups access to our key services, like Hotmail and MSN Messenger in a fun and interactive way," Whittingham said.

As strange as the iLoo might sound, Davies sees something appropriate about the invention. "We have a pretty unique toilet humor in the U.K.," he said.

A portable john with Internet access could, of course, present some problems at crowded summer events.

"It could induce a certain amount of queuing due to excess browsing on the part of users," Kay said.

To address this problem, the iLoo will be outfitted with a plasma display and waterproof keyboard outside the box, so that those waiting in line can check their Hotmail accounts.

Davies also raised concerns about the long lines. "Like my father always said: 'Get in, get it out, get out,'" he said.

Whittingham agreed that people might take longer in the toilet because of the Internet access. "If they take too long--say, hours--we'll probably bang on the door or something," he said.

Security is another issue. Because of the expensive hardware inside, Microsoft plans to post a guard to protect the iLoo.

"If we didn't post a guard, somebody would probably just lift the whole thing up and walk away with it," Whittingham said.

It's uncertain whether the MSN iLoo will do much for winning new subscribers, but the portable toilet certainly presents a unique way of promoting the brand. Worldwide, Microsoft has about 8.7 million MSN subscribers, a 300,000 decline in the first quarter from the fourth quarter.

The iLoo isn't the only new concept PC that Microsoft has under development. At next week's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, the software giant is set to show off "Athens," which is intended to be hub for communications and collaboration.

[Timesink]

The bigger image:

No word on whether it's street-legal in the US (only 1.6 GPF).

[Timesink]

And yes, I'm posting it to humor, because I'm not yet convinced this isn't a big joke.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Now you can post on FR any time!

[battlegearboat]

How lovely.

[Lady Jag]

Will they charge by the hour? Sometime I think fondly of the good old days, but this new-fangled contraption looks fantastic. This is one case where the good old days weren't that great.

[Rich_E]

I'm curious. Would anyone want to put their fingers on that keyboard? I could see it being used for internet porn sites....

[WaterDragon]

Actually, knowing how many people keep a magazine/book-rack in their bathrooms, I've wondered if there are people who take their laptops in with them. Why not?

[Nita Nupress]

After a few days, the keyboard would be so rich with fecal coliform bacteria you could plant a garden on it.

[ClancyJ]

Eeeeewww!!!!!

What about all the people that would never think of washing their hands?

Guess you could get a paper towel and place over the keyboard as you type. Uck!!!!!!!

[butter pecan fan]

SH**ADELIC!!!!!!

[mhking]

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[Nita Nupress]

Disgusting thought, isn't it? The majority of people, particularly men, don't wash their hands after wiping. Think on that the next time you're in a crowd of men and shake a lot of hands. :-)

This may help with the loo: http://www.rota.com.tw/anti-bacteria.htm

[July 4th]

The person who designed this has evidently never been in a port-a-potty. That thing will be smeared with who knows what after about 3 uses.

[Sofa King]

I'm with you. I touch as little as humanly possible, and stay in there as little time as humanly possible when I'm in one of those things (which is only when I absolutely can't hold it anymore). I'm sure as hell not going to go out of my way to touch more things and spend more time in there just to surf the net (which I can do at home in a room where nobody defecates).

This is not only disgusting, but probably a public health disaster if it ever catches on.

[Nita Nupress]

Title: YUCK! , By: S.P., Prasso, Sheridan, Business Week, 00077135, 6/3/2002

YUCK!

Here's a good gross-out statistic--your desktop is 400 times dirtier than a toilet seat. And your phone is even worse. That's according to Chuck Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona who wanted to find out just how dirty our offices really are. He took 7,000 samples from several hundred workstations in New York, San Francisco, Tucson, and Tampa last summer.

Even he was surprised at the results. The phone receiver: an average 25,000 bacteria per square inch. ``People slobber on that,'' says Gerba. The desktop: 21,000 bacteria per square inch. ``People spill coffee and eat their meals there, and nobody cleans it. Or they just use a wet towel that spreads things around,'' he says. The keyboard: 3,000. And the average office toilet seat? Just 50. ``People use disinfectant to clean that,'' he explains. New York offices, where workers tend to eat at their desks, are the worst.

Receptionists' desks, where lots of people pause daily, are the worst areas of all. ``People need to think about cleaning,'' says Gerba, ``or they end up with a bacteria cafeteria on their desks.''

[Sofa King]

Yeah, but what kinds of bacteria is more important than amount. Alot of bacteria is harmless.

[Nita Nupress]

Putting a finger on infection sources
Nursing Management; Chicago; Jun 2001;

Computer keyboards and faucet handles in ICUs can be reservoirs of nosocomial pathogens, new research shows. In one ICU over a 2-month period, researchers collected specimen samples from 10 computer keyboards in eight patient rooms, one nurses' station, and one physicians' station. They also collected samples from eight pairs of faucet handles.

The researchers discovered that 24% of keyboards and 11 % of faucets were contaminated. They found no statistically significant difference in contamination rates according to keyboard or faucet location. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, and other Gram-negative rods were the most common of the 33 isolates obtained from the samples.

Based on these findings, Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the study was conducted, has installed plastic covers over keyboards in the ICU that get cleaned daily. The hospital also intends to install sinks with foot-controlled faucets in all of its CCUs.

Source: "Computer Keyboards and Faucet Handles as Reservoirs of Nosocomial Pathogens in the Intensive Care Unit," American Journal of Infection Control, S. Bures, et al., December 2000.

---

If you're ever in the hospital, the biggest thing you can do to prevent acquiring a nosocomial infection such as MRSA is to have a big bottle of alcohol hand rub at your bedside. Then INSIST that anyone who touches you or your IV first clean their hands right there in front of you. Be adamant. Be a horses butt if you have to. Nurses, doctors, everyone.

[Nita Nupress]

/soapbox rant :-)

[MeekMom]

Cute mhking!

[battlegearboat]

Your right about that...and have "Bones" clean his stethascope before he slaps it on your skin.