April Fools Virus Hits JavaOne Conference

Sometimes our April Fools issues are a little too prescient. Rich Mogull, our security editor, wrote “Mac Users Affected by New Virus” (2008-04-01) in such a way that it took a few paragraphs before it became clear he was talking about a biological virus, not a computer virus. But by the end of the article, the fact that it was a spoof should have become obvious.

Unfortunately, at the recent JavaOne Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco, 70 people fell victim to a norovirus, suffering nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea just as had supposedly happened in Rich’s spoof. 67 of the victims were staff working at the conference, although 3 attendees also fell sick. None were hospitalized.

So next time you’re at a conference, we really do recommend washing your hands a lot. And as I’m constantly reminding the 9-year-old Tristan… with soap!