Google ‘two mouse’ browser joke still sounds cool

Google has played its part in yearly April Fool’s Day festivities by producing a video about a Chrome browser update that would enable users to browse, work and play with the power of two mice. Though an obvious prank, the idea itself sounds nice.

Actual Chrome Design Lead Glen Murphy put on his jokey pants for a video explaining how the pretend “Multitask Mode” would allow users to unlock their full potential. “We realized that at any one time while browsing, you’re only using 50 percent of your hands,” jokes Murphy. “Why?”

A more dirty-minded person may answer the rhetorical question one way, but Murphy keeps it clean, showing folks pantomiming with two mice on a single screen. Surprise: playing “Angry Birds” while designing a visual proposal would be a herculean task for even the most adept computer warrior.

But the joke belies a truth: we are somewhat held back by the personal computer’s well-worn interface. Consider the high-tech computer wizardry displayed in “Minority Report,” where police officer John Anderton does everything we currently do (and then some) without a mouse and keyboard using smart gloves and a screen-less UI. Of course, display technology would need to take a step toward the sci-fi first, but browsing without a mouse or touch screen looks like an advance worth making — one which would likely take far less time getting used to compared to Google’s unwieldy two-mouse concept.

How would you rank this April Fool’s joke compared to Google’s previous attempts? Let us know in the comment section.