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Microsoft Watching What You Watch
Arkham writes "According to this Wired article, Microsoft
has contracted with a company called Predictive Networks to track the viewing habits of Microsoft TV devices. The Predictive software creates a "Digital Silhouette" that is described as being able "to tell them that Joe watches a lot of baseball, likes Situation Comedies, and
responds favorably to commercials that use humor."." I've always said
that I'm cool with my Tivo tracking what I watch, provided it never tells
anyone my name and address to anyone.
If it meant I watched more
targetted advertisements, I'd fast forward less.
Why do I get the feeling that MS is building it's own Magic Lantern/Carnivore type thing. This is the app that I'm really scared of.
MSN tracks our shopping, email, surfing, and chatting. Now they are going to track our TV watching habits. I don't know whether to throw the Ultimate TV out the window or just give up and just start send Redmond my stool samples.
If I see a big face wearing glasses show up on my TV I'm chucking a hammer through it!
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Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
...Web sites across the Internet are tracking which ad banners you see and click on by using a sophisticated "cookie" file.
This article would be "news" if we weren't already familiar with the technology, I think.
People that actually buy Microsoft TV devices? Middle aged men, that like expensive toys. Looks like ratings for porn, sports, and the Man show are going to sky rocket...
I leave my cable box on 24 /7, usally on a info channel :) does that mean the cable company would make more "how to use this service" channels if they were tracking me?
:)
I dont think so, MS will probably only log about what is on your tv for about 30 min after the channel has changed
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The computer told me to press any key to continue,I pressed the one looking like this (|) !!OH SH*T!!
pronoblem
Imagine setting up a small standalone circuit with a timer, an infrared LED, and the necessary circuitry to emulate one small part of a cable box's remote: The channel up button. Every few seconds, perhaps with a bit of randomness introduced, change the channel up one. Leave this running when you're not actually watching the one-eyed-idiot.
;-)
Meanwhile, back at Microsoft:
"This guy has the worst case of channel surfing we've ever seen!"
Unable to target the viewer with anything but blipverts, landmail advertisements start arriving for Ritalin at wholesale prices.
consider, say I watch a lot of p0rn when my wife and/or girlfriend is away or goes to bed early, and my wife suddenly wonders why all the targetted TV ads are for sex chatlines and hot hard action......
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
M$ Maketeer#1 Joe watches a lot of baseball, likes Situation Comedies, and responds favorably to commercials that use humor.
M$ Maketeer#2 He sounds like our kind of brain-dead moron.
M$ Maketeer#1 Send him a brochure.
From my experience with marketroids and web server logs, I'm not sure they actually *want* to know people's likes and dislikes. They actually get quite shocked with hard evidence contrary to their own beliefs, immediately claiming that the "server must be broken" or "we're being hacked". Some even go as far as removing links to sections of the site that they think are overly popular, to "direct traffic back to the more important part of the site". With this system:
"Sir, the latest tracker results say that people are 92% more likely to change channels when the Microsoft flying-through-the-air XP ads are on!"
"WHAT?! That's impossible... hmmm, can we pay for the other channels to be blank while our ads are on?"
> If it meant I watched more targetted
> advertisements, I'd fast forward less.
Just like you buy more CD's while using P2P music sharing, right?
And if you purchased both, I hope you're one of those who "respond favorably to ads that contain humor", 'cuz you're gonna get some seriously funny ads in the mail.