Microsoft Tries To Close the Lid on iLoo

James Maguire

            It seems Microsoft cannot flush away the iLoo controversy. After a press release from MSN UK announced the launch of an Internet-enabled portable toilet to debut in Britain this summer, Microsoft reversed itself and said the announcement was a hoax.

            Now the software giant has reversed itself again, explaining that the so-called "iLoo" was indeed a real project planned by its British MSN online service. But after the idea was met with howls of derision, the company decided to scuttle it.

            "The MSN iLoo was not false or a hoax," reads a statement from MSN UK. "It follows a UK strategy to bring the Internet to as many people in Britain as possible and encourage debate about how the Internet can affect our lives now and in the future." The sober tone of the official explanation so far has failed to stem the tide of ridicule from Microsoft critics -- or quell the potty humour in the industry press.

            "I have a feeling the [MSN] guys in England are being roasted over a slow fire," Aberdeen Group analyst Russ Craig told NewsFactor.

Wi-Fi Porta-Potty

            The iLoo might have been a success, for it surely created interest when it was announced in early May. MSN UK's original plan was to test the iLoo at Britain's summer music festivals.

            The iLoo was to be built with a high-speed Wi-Fi connection, a wireless keyboard, and an adjustable flat-panel display at an appropriate height for seated browsers.

            The novel contraption was part of a plan to advertise the MSN Internet service -- so far not a money maker -- in unlikely venues. Related MSN promotional pushes highlighted Net access on beach lounges in France and park benches in London.

            "They're really working very hard on the concept of having people connected everyplace. This is just an instance where perhaps they got a little bit ahead of where the market is willing to go," Forrester analyst Rob Enderle told NewsFactor.

Confusion Ensues

            Although the iLoo project created a lot of publicity -- reported by publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal to the Associated Press -- coverage was decidedly mixed.

            The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, for example, wondered whether sharing a keyboard in a public toilet would be hygienic.

"It got out before anyone thought it through completely," Yankee Group analyst Adi Kishore told NewsFactor. "I can't imagine it would be terribly successful as a product."

            After hearing the first round of jeers, Microsoft announced that the iLoo had been an April Fool's Day joke. But that appeared unlikely, because the original announcement came out May 2nd, and there was a press release on the MSN UK site. Microsoft has no history of fictional press releases.

Official Denials

            After continued confusion, Microsoft admitted that the iLoo was once a real plan but was now cancelled. "From a PR standpoint, they certainly didn't manage this very well," Kishore said.

Microsoft is "issuing official denials that they're not in the wireless toilet business," Craig said, with a laugh.

            According to the MSN UK press release, this was "a story about a UK market initiative and naturally was aimed at British culture and humour ... It was always meant to be a one-off pilot, not a major manufacturing project.

            "The attention the story generated has made us sure that the concept is valid, however there was some misunderstanding about the context of the initiative along the way, and therefore it will not be built."

Kishore noted that "anything Microsoft does is news -- now they've proven it."

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