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Unicast Claims Success With Internet Commercials
LightForce3 writes "Remember that trial run of full-motion commercials on sites like ESPN.com and MSN? The BBC reports that Unicast, whose caching technology makes these ads work, is claiming a strong favorable response from Internet users who viewed the advertisements. It looks like they could now be making long-term deals with clients (the article mentions Forbes.com and weather.com). As a dialup user, I am less than thrilled about the idea of an extra 2 MB download each time I visit one of these sites."
Don't use Microsoft software. Really. It claims to use Windows Media 9 and some "proprietary" background downloading crap, so Mozilla with no Windows Media plugin should be a good start, along with Mozilla's AdBlock plugin just to make sure.
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
I've tried to look at the demo on their website many times, however it never works because of the requirements:
...but you can't get the MS JVM any more :-( And I don't use IE (although I appreciate most of the world does).
Windows
Internet Explorer
Windows Media Player
Microsoft (not Sun) JVM
You can try it yourself here. If you do, be sure to comment what it's like, because I've never seen it!
http://adblock.mozdev.org/ there you go
IAAL
You have to enable "ESPN Motion", which gives you video highlights and video clips from their regular TV shows (PTI, etc.). So, you only see the video ads if you watch their video content. Seems like there isn't really anything new here. Beware of "ESPN Motion" though. It installs a service that constantly downloads content in the background so that when you hit the site it is all ready to go. Interesting idea, but can choke off that UT2004 session at just the wrong time!
It downloads and installs client software that runs 24/7 in the background, downloading the latest content. So if you ever happen to go to the site, the videos are ready to play right from disk.
As far as I can tell, you have no options for configuring when or what it downloads.
If you use Mozilla/Firefox you can install Flash Click to View fromh p/flas hclick
http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info.p
(Remove the space inserted into the link by Slashdot)
With the plugin, the browser loads the Flash content but displays a blank button with the text "click to view" instead of the animation. So now you can go to the site that require flash, but won't be bothered unless you want to.
With regards to the full motion video - where do they find the drooling idiots in the test group who want the net to resemble TV more? Do you believe the "only 28% of users found it annoying", or are the advertisers lying? (And why not, it's basically their job anyway)
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here; IANA Programmer and am not sure if there are tricky Java-based things they could do to get around regular ad blocking measures.
Losers choose to abuse the use of "loose".
since I use the Adblock extension for Mozilla and Firefox, the net has become practically adfree for me. I remember a time when ads didn't disturb the reading pleasure of a website with all sorts of motion and sounds. I even clicked on banners sometimes back then. But since all those flashbanners and whatnot appeared, I rather block them
it would appear to be macromedia flash/shockwave livey 4.swf?n=03%2F16%2F2004+7%3A57%3A14+AM&info=Havaian as!!!!!Many+Forms!!!!!Almap+BBDO+Brazil!!!!!Levi%2 7s!!!!!Levi+Strauss!!!!!AvenueA!!!!!General+Motors !!!!!Chevy+Tahoe!!!!!Campbell%2DEwald!!!!!History+ Channel!!!!!Killing+Pablo!!!!!Horizon+Interactive! !!!!Jaguar!!!!!XJ4!!!!!Global+Beach
go to www.unicast.com, click on "gallery" - it's a page with the shockwave object embedded - when you click on the "View ad" button it starts downloading the clip in the background. Presumably some sites will keep the shockwave embedded in a zero height frame which will go fullsize via client side scripting once the whole advert is downloaded ready to play, while others will use in page, or half page, via iframes or whatever.
You can get hold of the shockwave file direct at http://www.unicast.com/gallery/previewpane/galler
$ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
In addition to AdBlock (and Flash click-to-view, which someone mentioned further down the page), take a look at the adblocking CSS on texturizer.net. It really does an amazing job of killing just ads (including all the ads on Slashdot-- I'm not going to click them anyway, so I don't want to see them.)
Privoxy is the newer version of Junkbuster. And for all that ad-free goodness, I chain Privoxy to Proxomitron (in Windows XP).
Prixovy - http://www.privoxy.org
Proxomitron - http://www.proxomitron.info/files/index.shtml
Also, get a patched hosts file from here,
http://remember.mine.nu
And run Edexter to fill in the banners.
http://www.pyrenean.com/edexter.php
Ad-free pop-up free content. On dial-up, it's like sweet freedom.
Remove the spamfreak to speak.
As an option to "get around" the advertising issue, my boss informed me sometime ago of Mozilla. Since then I have been a loyal user. When Firebird was released I thought there was no use for me to use it, as I was running the latest build of Moz. He otld me that Firebird was the same browser just a lighter version, and tha there were a few things it did that its larger companion didn't. What impressed me was FIrebirds ability to surpress banner ads. Turns out it filters out more than 90% of them. Now I am not sure in the authors case whether or not it would work, but were I he I would give it a shot.
Life without banner ads, No longer do I need to read "Meet HOT singles in your area today".
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!