Slashdot Mirror
Free IBM Computers For UK Households
Albanach writes "The Scotland on Sunday newspaper is reporting that UK firm Metronomy are offering 200,000 IBM PCs free of charge to UK households. Of course, there is a catch - advertising. Accepting the terms and conditions will get users a free IBM PC running Windows XP, but they will also be required to watch three minutes of TV style advertising for every hour of computer use and undertake to use the PC for a minimum of 30 hours per month."
Didn't a failed experiment like this happen in the U.S. already? This reminds me of all the free ISPs that used to exist for a brief time that are now all defunct or for pay.
Personally, I am cool with advertisements in the middle of things I do passively ... like watching TV.
But when I engage in an active action like writing a paper or reading, advertising gets blocked or at best ignored totally
Given the low prices of PCs and concerns over privacy how many people are actually going to take up this offer?
This seems awfully similar to the Free-PC campaign ran years ago.
Perhaps IBM can subsidize such a business model. As annoying as the advertising could be, I certainly would be interested in a free PC.
The disconcerting part of the article is the data-mining, however. The article claims that the personal information is confidential but it still makes me feel wary.
I'm curious as to what the specs on these machines are. It would have to be a damn good machine for me to consider such intrusive advertising practices. I recognize that, however is not likely.
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troll blacklist. Please mo
"The only catch is that users will be subjected to one minute of TV-style ads coming on to their screens every 20 minutes. If the user wishes, the ad break can be delayed by a maximum of five minutes to allow completion of another operation such as a secure online purchase of an airline ticket."
this is very annoying. 3 mins at once every hour is fine, but every 20 mins would be quite nagging.
There have been so many similar things, free ISP, even free telephony, paid by advertisement interruptions.
It always fails. Why?
Because it makes you feel like Alex in Clockwork Orange being force-fed evil media!
Right, right?
Will code a sig generator for food
they will also be required to watch three minutes of TV style advertising for every hour of computer use and undertake to use the PC for a minimum of 30 hours per month.
As some people have already stated, it is easy to take a bathroom break once an our, like watching TV except in this respect you don't have to worry about missing anything.
The 30 hour minimum per month would probably be easy to get around. Just leave the computer on when you are not using it. The commercials would probably "air" whether you are there or not. Or will it track keyboard/mouse movements?
If someone were to "hack" this then maybe they could have the commercials run, but in the background, and with no sound? They probably have some way to account for the commercials and 30 hours of use per month. If you could figure out how it communicates then you could just have it send out fake communications with your ID. This might even be able to be done under Linux.
It is curious that IBM is doing this with XP instead of Linux. If they implimented it with Linux they could retain the root password which could make it a bit more difficult to get around the conditions.
You might be able to dual boot between Windows and XP. You would just have to let it run 30 hours a month in XP. But the EULA probably prohibits installing other operating systems. But it probably prohibits hacking the communication too.
Promote Sensitivity on Slashdot, make me your friend.
(looks over at the Compaq 5301 in the corner)
Where have we heard this before? Oh yes, Free-PC.
In 1999 or there abouts Free-PC was doing the "ad-supported computer" scheme. Of course, back then streaming video for ads was out of the question and so they just chopped a 1024x768 desktop to be an 800x600 desktop with standard animated GIF type ads around the surplus.
I was lucky enough to get one. Free-PC had no chance. I think they were toast even before the dot-com bubble burst. In the end, the were bought by eMachines who had no interest in supporting the crazy scheme so they sent us all letters giving us ownership of the computers.
Truth be told, I thought it was a decent machine for an (ugh) Presario. Has some kind of AMD, I think it was a K2-66 maybe. I kept lugging around because I intended to find an upgrade for it, but the fastest processor it supports (a KIII+) goes on eBay for ridiculously absurd prices.
But anyway, back on topic, I think companies are nuts to keep trying this. It took all of five minutes for people to figure out how to hack the Free-PC to be a normal PC (not to mention, play any game that used DirectX and ads go bye bye). I highly recommend people sign up for this. I'd bet dollars to pesos they go under in a year and everyone walks away with a free computer. History repeats itself right?
- JoeShmoe
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-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
> I don't see anything limiting me to installing my own OS
Terms of conditions:
> "Every month, you will receive a cd containing adverts to be
> shown over the following four weeks. Each disc must be
> loaded onto your PC for the system to update. Should you
> fail to do this, your PC will be disabled."
So, if you understand what you wrote, are you suggesting that they'll ship a GNU/Linux version of their ad software?
Also, the terms and conditions say that you must connect to the internet at least once per month. Obviously this is so that some piece of software can transmit data to verify that you've installed your ads etc. Will this software be available for GNU/Linux? hey, maybe it will even be Free Software. no.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
I don't see anything limiting me to installing my own OS. Sure, I'll copy over their monthly CD. It'll do nothing to my Gentoo install but so what?
It requires a monthly net connection, a phone-home function, or the reverse when it collects some key to keep the PC active for another month; also this will be somehow contingent on you actually consuming the ads. Maybe something like Wired's "look at the ad and click before seeing content". And that won't work if you're running BeOS, so they send the repo man around after a couple of months.
Obviously this will be hacked, even a closed architecture like XBox was hacked. But most of those who sign up will follow the instructions.
What this would be good for would be places like Internet cafes where you can let IBM pick up the support tab. They'll probably put somethng in the TOS to rule that out.
Well ok , you CAN physically install it , but reading between the lines on their agreement form about having to use the internet 30 hours a month
I'd bet my granny that the PC comes with some sort of phone home software and if it doesn't phone home after a month (because its been deleted) then I'm pretty sure someone would come knocking on
the door a few days later. Of course you could always put Linux/BSD on and just use the PC for a month then wait for the knock,
depends what you need it for.
--
Simon
While I agree with many of your thoughts I do not agree that computers are out of reach for poor folks.
Here in Calgary I can and have bought several machines for under $200 Canadian - that is under 100 quid. As for them being underpowered? no... my desktop is an upgraded 1998 celeron 433 and it now runs at 1.3gHz (Note: tualatin core celeron's are faster and better than coppermine pentium III's in all respects ) and it has 384 MB ECC memory and I don't think you can even get ECC on P4's anymore.
This means that newer computers do not even measure up to the MINIMUM standard I use.
Note that a 1.3gHz Tualatin will run about 85-95% of the speed of a 1.8gHz P4. This is because of longer pipelines and a detuned core which imposes many additional cycles in order to get the same job done. Remember, Intel had to find some way to puff the numbers. [Besides - I'm not CPU bound anyways so my machine will NEVER run faster than now regardless of how many cycles per second I buy]
The cost of my upgrade? Under $100 bux Canadian. So a poor person should be able to put themselves into a 1.3 gHz machine with the upgrade for less than $200 quid - easily - and still have money in that budget to pay an enterprising smart student out of high school or uni.
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IMHO, most poor people have enuf money for their boose and smokes. It isn't a question of cost - its a question of priorities.
I've been unemployed since graduating with a Masters in Computer Science in 2002 but despite this I'm not considered unemployed.
I'm writing this on my lunch break at my "work".
I have been placed/forced to go on the Training for work program where I work over a 40 hour week for just over 50.
Many of my friends from University are in the same position with many working in shops like Boots and not even attempting to gain work in IT as they feel it is hopeless.
I have applied for over 50 jobs a week for the past year getting very few responses and then being turned down for lack of post grad experience ignoring my three years of commerical programming prior to University. The two job offers I did recieve were working for just over minimum wage in a location that would require a two hour commute each morning and would have left me worse off financially than what I currently recieve.
I am in the unfortunate position of living in a fairly remote area of Scotland having moved back with relatives after graduation and find there are no oppertunities for even minimum wage work in the local area.
The economy in the south on England is great but employers are very reluctant to consider people that arent residing locally and the high cost of living in the area makes it impossible to relocate there without employment.