in the news: The "iLoo", sit & surf

[RonOnGuitar]

Does the world **really** need this - a john with internet access?













The world's first portable lavatory with internet access is due to be unveiled this summer. The 'iLoo' is being built by Microsoft's internet arm MSN which aims to showcase its creation at summer music festivals.

[PLX180]

What? You think I'm touching *that* keyboard??

[RonOnGuitar]

But it has 6 channel surround sound!!!

hahahaa!

[bbchris]

I saw a much more basic model last year at the Canton Trade Fair!! As long as there isn't also a webcam on that computer, I think I can live with the idea that some of you are visiting the boards from the loo......

|Blah Blah|Talk Soup|Thinking Out Loud|thewireweb|

[bbchris]

hahaha So Debbie is that where you do your best writing?



Years ago someone told me his best acid trips were in toilets!?!??!!?



I'm a quick in and out person. I prefer to read on a chair!!! hahahahahaha

|Blah Blah|Talk Soup|Thinking Out Loud|thewireweb|

[debbie mannas]

we should both host a radio talk show - and just keep going with our smart ass comments. That would be a riot dont you think? Only we both would be laughing so hard we wouldnt be able to talk...

[bbchris]

hahahahahaha We'd have a blast!!!!!



That is one of my dreams - to host a radio show - You've just reminded me to ring up Pierre and ask him ever so nicely when I can be his guest again!!

|Blah Blah|Talk Soup|Thinking Out Loud|thewireweb|

[debbie mannas]

[PLX180]

Quote:

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I saw a documentary the other day about loos in germany (for men only) that pop up in the night and then sink back into the sidewalk by day,

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I'm 99% sure those exist in London now.

[debbie mannas]

www.westminster.gov.uk/news/PR-886.cfm



Pop-up loos: A night-time convenience to stamp out street fouling in the West End



A revo-loo-tion in public conveniences in central London will be unveiled by Westminster City Council this week as part of its Big City, Big Clean Up campaign.



Pop-up toilets will be brought into use in the capital for the first time on Friday, November 1 in an effort to stamp out street urination in the West End. The telescopic-style urinals are a high-tech answer to a major anti-social problem in London.



During the day they are stored beneath the pavement, and rise hydraulically at night by remote control to become an easily visible urinal.



These stainless steel units, which are two metres high and just over a metre in diameter, contain three bays and are self-cleaning.



Urinating against walls and doorways has become rife in central London in recent years. To help combat the problem, the City Council has already installed open-air mobile urinals in the worst-affected areas.



These have had an impact, and will remain. But telescopic loos have added benefits.



Unlike the portable urinals, which have to be physically emptied of the waste, the pop-up version is linked to the main sewerage system and waste is simply flushed away.



Also, telescopic loos are hidden underground, as inconspicuous as a manhole, and raised only at night. Therefore, they can be employed in areas where sensitivity has to be shown to buildings, such as busy tourist sites, during the day.



The loos - a Dutch idea called the UriLift, which have been provided in 8 Dutch cities, have been introduced in only one area of this country so far, Reading. There they are proving an effective weapon in combating street urination.



Westminster's first UriLifts will be sited at Villiers Street near Embankment Tube Station - a well-known "wet spot". A second telescopic loo is planned for Cambridge Circus, a gateway to the Soho entertainment district.



They will be in operation every night between 7pm and 6am. If they prove successful, they could pop up throughout the West End.



Westminster's Cabinet Member for Street Environment, Cllr Judith Warner, said:



"We take great pride in having what is generally regarded as being the best public loo service in Britain. We provide 31 conventional loos throughout the city, with some in the West End open 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. In addition, there are 12 automatic public conveniences (APCs), also open round-the-clock.



"We also provide portable street urinals, targeting "wet spots" in the West End. And there are thousands of hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs in central London which provide toilet facilities patrons can use. So I find it extraordinary that people still continue to urinate on our city's streets.



"This disgusting habit is a growing problem and we are determined to try and eradicate it. The pop-up loos are a further major step forward in our campaign to tackle this menace and to provide people with an acceptable alternative to this anti-social behaviour. They have proved highly successful both on the Continent and in the one town in this country where they have been introduced. I am confident they will be equally effective in Westminster.



"If people cannot find a single loo to use in the West End, whatever the time of day or night, they simply cannot be looking very hard," Cllr Warner added.



Michael Wylde, Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Covent Garden Community Association, said: "The Council's speedy response to the problem of street urination is highly appreciated by residents and businesses. We hope that these new pop-up loos will help to keep the streets clean and disease-free."



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some more...

www.londoneasy.co.uk/mags...rt=Pissoir



God they really need these in Lan Kwai Fong!!!

[RonOnGuitar]

Apparently "the end is in sight" for the iLoo story! -







Microsoft admits iLoo was a load of crap



May 13 2003 at 06:03PM







Seattle, Washington - Microsoft admitted on Tuesday last week's unveiling of a toilet with high-speed Internet access was a hoax concocted by its British division.



The fake introduction of the iLoo on April 30, complete with technical drawings, got widespread play from news media around the world as Microsoft insisted it was no joke.



It was.



"This iLoo release came out of the (British) office and was not a Microsoft-sanctioned communication, and we apologise for any confusion or offence it may have caused," Microsoft spokesperson Bridgitt Arnold said. - Sapa-AFP



www.iol.co.za/index.php?c...5&set_id=1

[PLX180]

Apologise for any offence it may have caused?? huh? Do these people have a sense of humour?





makes sense it came from a British office btw haha

[RonOnGuitar]

Yeah - and I imagine this is a big letdown for geeks with a potty fetish....

[debbie mannas]

Quote:

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makes sense it came from a British office btw haha

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hahahaha. Yeah the Brit SOH is cool.

[droolymutt]

hahaha.....



ummmmmm.....