All That Glitters is Not Chrome

Though it may not seem like it, the tech world is often a rich ground for convoluted stories and hoaxes.  In part, that's because the technology industry moves so fast and tends to be fueled by rumor.  (One of the many reasons I think Huffington Post's heavy reliance on making The Last Apple Rumor stories headline news is the sort of things that puts them in a silly light.)

There's a very good article from Casey Newton with C/NET about the latest tech world question mark, which concerns a video supposedly announcing a new Google Chromebook, the Pixel.  The company behind the video, Slinky.me, seems to maybe, sort of, kind of exist -- or not,, though a pointed line in the article is "If true, Slinky is like no other startup on earth".

The owner of the company says he worked for Google, however another notable passage addresses this --

But Google says it is unaware of Koch having worked for the company. In a brief follow-up interview, asked whether he really had worked for Google, Koch exclaimed "Oh gosh!" and said a bad phone connection prevented him from hearing the question. He invited follow-up questions via e-mail, and CNET will update this post when he responds.

There's more to the story, including those promised updates and some details that suggest possible, perhaps, sort of validity, though it seems less and less likely.  But it's a good tale.  And good reporting.  Rumor has it.