Google has teased its annual I/O Developer's conference with a bunch of clues and puzzles. The search giant is known to tease a few upcoming features ahead of the event, typically held during the summer months. Last year, it was a feature called copyless paste, but this year for I/O 2018, the clues appear to be more elaborate. Putting all the clues together, it has been worked out that the conference will be held from May 8 to May 10, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.
Google Developers' Twitter account on Tuesday midnight posted a coded tweet, providing the first clue. It is a picture of a bunch of binary codes and if you are tech savvy, it will not take time to convert it into text. On using a binary-to-text converter, the code directs to a Google I/O URL.
When you open the website, Google presents you with a Google Street View of possibly the reception area of its Developers building. You will now have to move around the area and look for clues. The game is similar to the escape room or treasure hunt puzzles you might have played in the real world. However, this is carried out in the Google Street View, a perfect fodder for technology enthusiasts.
Inside the building, several clues are thrown in, such as a book called Sister Carrie written by Theodore Dreiser, a plate of Sushi, a calendar with the date August 5, and more. You need to use these clues to further enter the building and it goes on. Meanwhile, the date could just be a hint to further the game rather than an indication regarding the actual date of the I/O 2018 event.
In the initial stage, you need to unlock a door with a password. (Hint: Most of the clues have a similar theme- Sister and Japan.) Once unlocked, the Street View takes you to a conference room filled with clues. Inside, the first clue is a pineapple cake, and it is interesting to note that Google is expected to announce the name of its next Android version after Oreo.
After hours piecing together the clues, 9to5Google writer Justin Duino was rewarded with the final piece of the puzzle - the dates and the location.
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