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.

Comments

Oh no, not again

[ekrout]

CmdrTaco: 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.

I would much rather have some Tivo database somewhere with my name in it than to repeatedly write hideos prose on a web site that gets millions of hits per month. Or maybe that's just me...

;-) We still love you, 'taco

Dude, wider IS better!

[Kombat]

I don't want to go anywhere today and wider is not better.

In the context of automobiles, a wider track equates to improved stability and better cornering and safety. I've seen your .sig before, and bite my tongue every time I read it, because it's stupid. You seem to be opposing logic, simply because GM chose to latch onto that particular tidbit as a marketing slogan. Well, I'm sorry, but just because you hate the way the fact is being used doesn't make the fact itself any less true.

There's a reason why tall, narrow SUVs roll over all the time, and why Corvettes never do. Can you guess what that reason is?

Re:In other shocking news...

[linzeal]

I want a program that "roles the dice" every time those sort of cookies are requested. Eventually we could have a consumer profile that involves ordering orange tennis balls online every 4th week/clicks on Aol ads repeatedly but not Aol customer yet/etcetera