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Microsoft In Talks To Buy Claria
axonis writes "For the last two weeks, Microsoft has been in talks to buy Claria, an adware marketer formerly called Gator, and best known for its pop-up ads and software that tracks people visiting Web sites. The offer price on the table as recently as Wednesday was $500 million. One person briefed on the deal said there was opposition within Microsoft to the acquisition. Analysts said Microsoft would probably be most interested in the long-term potential of Claria's personalization software rather than its pop-up ads."
...and I got really scared there for a second. ;)
It could, of course, be a good thing, if they can buy the company, and use their software for something other than spyware and popups!
libertarianswag.com
With any luck they'll buy them and then blow them up.
Microsofts Antispyware's cred just took a dive for no fault of its own. Pity, since Giant (which it was before MS purchased it) was one of the better antispyware apps.
Go somewhere random
Microsoft will just embed Gator into Longhorn.
What are they thinking, don't they realize what this is going to do to their image? Microsoft, the company cherished for it's warm human point of view and high quality software, associating itself with such a low-life company.
Yes, let's reward these companies for their abuses of the internet. 500 million reasons to be unscrupulous in business. This is going to make spyware/adware that much worse. Yea, let's here it for best business practices!!! /rant
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein
Just imagine. IE is already the browser most known for succombing to popups. Now Microsoft is going to own the company who makes them. Either Microsoft is doing something smart by trying to buy the technology BEHIND the popups, making them easier to block... (yeah right)... Or soon, MS will launch a Google-like system that sees us running OpenOffice, and pops up a dialog for MS Office. We'll be running Winamp, and see a popup for WMP. Just imagine! Windows popups! How fun will that be. *runs and hides from the evil Windows*
Well, at least deciding which company we hate most should get a lot easier.
as if millions of pcs suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Microsoft should buy whoever made Bonzai Buddy (or whatever that purple guy was called.) The integration of that and Clippy would be revolutionary.
When they combine, they form a new terror, as vast as Microsoft yet as wicked as Claria -- and our weapons will be useless against it. It will destroy all of Meta-Tokyo, unless we can find the Magic Princess in time and give her the Moon Crystal and the Seven Essences! Your quest begins here...
(Press 'B' to continue)
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
... Popup blocking functionality was stripped from Longhorn, Microsoft announced today.
839*929
> One person briefed on the deal said there was opposition within Microsoft to the acquisition.
;)
Would that be from the AntiSpyware group?
-- OpenVerse Visual Chat: http://openverse.com
Besides, since Ballmer's indicated that they want to "catch Google," they'd better be able to do some very, very clever stuff with ad targeting on the MSN search side. Might as well buy (rather than build) a business unit that already has a jillion-view history, and some people that have waded through all this stuff a million times.
Though, they should take at least a couple of the Gator people out back and wack 'em just on principle.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Pop-up security updates, click here to patch XP, "Win an X-Box 360 if you can whack Ballmer" Microsoft ads, Pop-up spam on competitors web sites. It is the beginning of the Microsoft Dirty War.
"I drank WHAT?!"--Socrates
Gator=evil money sucking leeches...
MS=(I'll let you figure that one...)
One division of M$ will infect software from another divsion while a 3rd division tries to clear it off. This sounds like M$ has some serious inner turmoir going on? Talk about not being able to make up your mind.
I really want to see how the PR people market this.
Evolution or ID?
I wonder if this buyout is just a way for Microsoft to kill off a whole slew of spyware? Seems to me that 500 million is a fair price to rid us of Claria's crap.
Gorkman
You mean Claria, not Microsoft.
What in the world is going on?
First, the senior level executive from Gator goes to work for Homeland Security (head still spinning from that one).
And now, Microsoft is in talks to buy Claria?
I smell something fishy. Suddenly, the HSD will be buying all things Microsoft, in the name of anti-terrorism and patriotism.
This rumor defies logic. By acquiring a spyware maker, no matter whether or not they intend to use the spyware themselves, Microsoft would seriously endanger their efforts to gain credibility among technical users.
Claria is 'fruit of the poisoned tree'.
Typically, acquisitions like this are done because it's cheaper to buy target company A then it is to develop a solution internally, and any competent business manager should be taking into account the 'cost' of associating Microsoft with a company with Claria's history.
I would guess that the story is a plant, and that someone fell for it. Was the purpose of the plant to expose leakers? Or was it a well orchestrated prank? Either way, it seems contra-indicated for good business, and successful business is Microsoft's #1 product.
I wonder if Steve Ballmer has any extra pot he can sell me...
I don't think Steve is smoking pot. It's something way stronger than that. Something top secret and isn't on the streets strong.
Evolution or ID?
"...the company cherished for it's warm human point of view and high quality software..."
I think you misspelled "crap."
It's a common typo, they keys are like, right next to each other.
(with apologies to bash)
Marketing value is worth a lot. People still haven't caught on that Google's largest asset is the huge marketing knowledge they have access to both directly and indirectly (searches); the text ads are cute but not the main show. You'll see.
Almost two years ago Gator changed their name to Claria in an attempt to distance themselves from their scummy reputation. It's encouraging that the media still refers to Claria/Gator by both names -- it keeps the name association going and lets people know exactly who they're dealing with.
Number of times in the entire history of the world that buying off thugs has ever made them go away: 0
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
NWO : "For only $29.99, we won't tell the wife/DEA/Homeland Security!"
Oh damn, forgot to click "Post Anonymously"...
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
...that there's someone who's in the dark on this:
Linky
--------
This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
Or maybe the adware is their final solution to the piracy problem...
The truth about Michael
"Yes, Master Gates! We scurry to obey our Lordship's fearsome wrath!"
"Minion, it's been more than a month since I found a way to make myself more evil and I'm completely out of ideas! I was wondering if your abject, toady self could come up with anything better."
"Errrr, Your Worship could turn his steely fist of retribution to the task of creating more Windows security holes, oh Instigator of Mandatory Overtime?"
"Bah, that's an automated process now! Try harder, you pathetic cringing worm!"
"Ummm, you could always give more money to Darl McBride, oh Slayer of Open Source!"
"That idiotic bungler! We were cought faking evidence in the middle of our trial and still came out on top, and he can't even drag his pathetic little farce out three years?"
"Create an iPod clone, oh Exterminator of the Jobsian Herasy?"
"Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Next!"
"You could get William Hung and Billy Ray Cyrus to collaborate on a new version of "Achy Breaky Heart."
Gates fixed his minion with a steely glare. "Even I have limits."
"Well, then what about buying a spyware company, oh Vengeful Wielder of Billiions? One with really annoying popups and tracking software that's impossible to remove."
"What, like RealMedia?"
"Well, that would work, but I was thinking about Gator, oh Bringer of Viruses."
"That's it! Great idea! Good thinking, minion! Tonight you get extra fishheads in your gruel!"
Crow T. Trollbot
Perhaps microsoft just wants to aquire a group of programmers who have proven their capability for evil. People who won't let bad karma get in the way of making a buck.
Next, they'll be buying SCO for its executives and legal team. These are the staff they need to fight open source.
(it's a joke people, don't take it seriously)
Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
When I heard MS was going to get adware and spyware under control, I thought they meant with a program...not by buying the whole adware companies!
Don't take life so seriously. No one makes it out alive.
If Microsoft buys Claria, they'll effectively be holding both sides of the pop-up/under problem.
Maybe they'll be able to develop a pop-over/under technology that CAN'T be blocked by browsers by controlling both sides.
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
Well, you're right, of course. Search engines, including MSN and Google, should always operate at a loss, preferrably until they go out of business. And if they do decide to do something as tasteless as run side-bar ads to pay for what everyone uses millions of times a day, they certainly shouldn't use any sort of technology to make those ads actually relevent or attractive to the people that the paying advertisers want to reach. Definately not. I know that the almighty, completely benign Google will surely lead the way in first abandoning any sort of contextual/visitor awareness in their ads, and then stop running them altogether and drain their shareholders' money until it all dries up and goes away.
Wait... I've got an idea. If you don't like MS, don't use their free search engine, and don't patronize the thousands of merchants and other entities that choose to advertise there. Gosh, that was complicated.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
These sleazy pop-up ad makers are a public nuisance. They are a major source of pollution in the internet experience. Microsoft should have just bullied them out of the way.
The previous poster was right about making have these shitheads in the kernel. Microsoft would never pay $500 million to buy a company in order to get them to stop harassing people. It's most likely that Microsoft is buying this technology to constantly check if the individual copy of Windows on a PC is registered with them. If not (or if the registration number doesn't match the microprocessor ID number secretly included in the registration process), then the pop-up message routines embedded in the Windows kernel will incessantly blast the user to transfer the full list price from their checking account to Microsoft.
But, like all Microsoft stuff, it won't work completely right and even after paying, the poor schmucks will continue to be blasted with annoying messages. Microsoft will charge them a service fee for problem solving, an activation fee, a supplemental fee for having used an unregistered copy of windows, a fee for having been born, etc...
This could be good for Linux if Microsoft if Gates finally makes good on his famous 1977 letter of intent to stop people from using software without paying him. People use Windows because it is easy, more-or-less, and because Linux is such a pain in the ass to work with due to the inability of its designers to transcend their 'computer priesthood' mentality. I realize that comment will get the message marked as a troll, but, beautiful slashdaughters, it's so true.
But if Microsoft decides to use this new technology to harass the hell out of people, then they will come to Linux, kicking and cursing the whole way, and they will provide the major boost and surge in popularity that will break the Microsoft monopoly.
> new: We know where you've been!
That's not (+5, Funny), it's (+5, Informative), you insensitive clod!
Gator CPO at the Department of Homeland Security
Art imitates Life. Life imitates Slashdot.
actually, i see no problem with embedding something into the windows kernel to check if it's a legal copy. you can't get security patches for XP unless you have a legal copy, so what's the point of having it if you're susceptible to most of that crap that's floating around?
while MS wouldn't pay that much to stop them from harassing people, they would pay that much to get the code to the software to make their anti-spyware solution the best. they would also pay that much to get the data that claria has collected in order to make their own web stuff better. think about all the browsing habits claria has collected from people (the average person, in fact). they could easily use that data to help push them ahead of google.
please me, have no regrets.
The good news is that we won't have to worry about Gator being ported to Linux or other operating systems now...
This is an entry in Bill Gates's diary: