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Will Microsoft Put The Colonel in the Kernel?
theodp writes "The kernel meets The Colonel in a just-published Microsoft patent application for an Advertising Services Architecture, which delivers targeted advertising as 'part of the OS.' Microsoft, who once teamed with law enforcement to protect consumers from unwanted advertising, goes on to boast that the invention can 'take steps to verify ad consumption,' be used to block ads from competitors, and even sneak a peek at 'user document files, user e-mail files, user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, [and] computer status messages' to deliver more tightly targeted ads."
[paranoia] Wonder when you'll be downloading this important security update from Microsoft? [/paranoia]
Microsoft has realized that protecting consumers and selling high quality products are not ways they can make money any longer. Getting in bed with corporations and ad agencies and selling out the customer is looking to become much more profitable for them.
What really scares me is that for this to be successful, without some type of backlash from the user community, it would have to be forced on us. As in, forced so you could no longer install another operating system on your computer. Perhaps this is there for when they sue Linux out of oblivion, or at least try to. Otherwise, who would ever use another Microsoft product.
Then again, the data collected from such an endeavor would be so valuable, Microsoft could market computers for free with this software installed. Perhaps that the only other way this is successful.
i think i speak for everyone when i say "what the fuck??" when did OPERATING SYSTEMS become billboards? so when the next MS OS comes out, instead of everyone looking for activation cracks they'll be looking first for how the hell to get the adds off of their desktop? asking people to view shit at the bottom of msn messenger is one thing, but there is a line.
Though I think the difference is fairly obvious: Google is an optional service for 100% of the computer using market. Using Microsoft Windows is not so optional for ~90% of the market.
I can't imagine that very many companies will be able to subsidize Windows Vista 2020 licenses through advertising, whereas MS can reap substantial profits from doing so, especially as they continue to move the computer from the desktop into the living room.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
First MS decided to start distributing spyware with the OS when they created WGA. And now they want to top that off by including adware as well?
Thank you, both of you who replied...
Your helpful attitude is totally opposite of the attitude I ran into 10 years ago when I asked for help online.
If that's a common reaction, then the Linux comminty has come a long, long way along with the OS and software. I'm looking forward to trying it out and feeling secure again.
A statement like this in a patent application should be grounds for automatic refusal of said patent. If you can't describe the specific implementation of an "invention"... no patent for you!
-matthew
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
If they make a version of windows with this technology embedded in it to subsidize the cost of development, then I would take it -- why not?
As an aside, I think if advertising was really well targetted, then I wouldn't mind seeing it. That is to say -- If I am interested in Harry Potter, seeing 1 trailer and some reviews and an advert about it wouldn't bother me. Seeing 5000000000000 adverts and something about dog sex is what bothers me. Sadly, the latter is most common today, so advertising in general is frowned upon, while the former is actually sought after as a form of information rather than noise.
It depends on the distribution and your attitude/skill level going into it. Fortunately there are enough distributions that you should be able to find a good match. But regardless of the distribution, I think it is important that one changes one's expectations of what software is. Once you go with open source software, you should expect to take on an attitude of exploration and community. There is no more expecting software to do exactly what you need right out of the box (although Ubuntu has gotten pretty good about this). Nobody owes you anything (you didn't pay for anything). Whatever anyone in the community does for you (whether it is writing the code or supporting it) is purely voluntary. That is both the strength and weakness of free/open source software. Embrace it.
-matthew
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
An OS that watches you and markets products to you... far off ?
...
A TV station that markets to you during your favorite program
Advertisements that come inserted into your bills
You are required, at your place of employment to endure compulsory marketing.
What's next, tatoos in the inside of eyelids when you're born?
In the world of marketing it seems there are no bad ideas. Overstep boundaries, go to far, garner enough negative attention and you're still golden. It's about brand recognition, not about stimulating support for a product.
Personally I've become revolted by all forms of marketing. I'm "turned off and tuned out"... to paraphrase what I feel.
I'm waiting for a consumer revolution in a world of sheep.
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
There is no more expecting software to do exactly what you need right out of the box (although Ubuntu has gotten pretty good about this).
Neither is Windows very good at doing this. Mac OS, well, it comes closer than just about anything to that goal--in my opinion--but nothing is perfect.
It comes down to the fact that everyone is trained to put up with Windows idiosyncrasies, and one has to train himself to become accustomed to another set of idiosyncrasies in an effective transition. It's not hard. Heck, stuff in both KDE and Gnome is more logically organized than windows ever hoped for. For this reason, it's probably easier for beginning computer users to get along with a Linux graphics shell, than it is for a beginner to learn windows.
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
Sure, I can see it now. Sowhere in Darfur, someone gets a computer for free, with a free ad-driven version of Windows/Office. They make $2 a month and are forced to stare at the ads for Lexus and Grand Cherokees.. Uhhuhh...
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
I wonder if Microsoft is busy abandoning the software business.
First we get Vista, with a reported 20+ services phoning home with enough detail to make what Redmond get personally identifiable, not to mention that the Business version in my experience is an absolute dog to run compared to XP or Linux on the same "Vista approved" hardware. So we have instant privacy and security problems that come with the package, and new code which will take another year to become actually safe and usable (cute visuals do not maketh a usable business OS, especially if you have to retrain everyone - might as well take the plunge and retrain them on Macs or Linux).
Then we get the latest Office, which will work in Microsoft's attempt to create an 'Open' file format. That effort has mainly demonstrated that they (a) don't know what Open means, (b) don't see what their customers are asking for and (c) don't care about the previous two aspects, to the point of not understanding that their effort is alienating their increasingly savvy customers.
What's more, the 'Open' documentation has already given rise to the question if their flawed Excel spreadsheet functions (as documented) are new defects, or simply the first documentation of an already existing flawed interpretation of the laws of mathematics - any calculation done on an Excel spreadsheet to report financial results could now be seen as breaking diligence. In other words, using Excel knowingly may even carry a risk of criminal charges (IMHO, IANAL). Which executive would want that risk, especially with lower cost alternatives at hand that support a file format than can be machine processed and has been accepted at EU level?
However, MS trying to move into other markets hasn't been quite the success they'd hoped for either. Huge repair bills for Xbox, Zune zonked, and a lot of suppliers opting for a less license encumbered OS in their phones - it's all looking a tad shabby for your average clued up investor. Not a stock I'd keep on my portfolio, and following the progression other companies have made I think death by lawyer (suing your customers) cannot be far away.
And now, new idea, they're trying to move ads beyond your control into the core OS. Oh yes, that really will help drive up productivity in an office. And it'll be a primary risk vector if it gets infected.
Oh, yeah, I forgot, any new MS OS is the safest ever. Shame it still gets hacked before it's even launched. Talk about losing credibility..
Sure, I'm probably just a Mac/Linux fanboy. Isn't it irritating that even the less vocal ones in that category get proven right all the time? I don't choose an OS because of its fanbase, I chose it because it works for my business and I can see through the FUD (and OK, we're not a thousand seat business). I've had one office on OO exclusively now for 6 months, and no client has even noticed the difference - they're now switching to Linux completely. All the other offices are busy being switched to all Open Source based software in the next few months (using the holiday season), with the occasional Mac thrown in for graphics work.
And you know the best news? No virus problems, no daily 'reboot now' updates, no Genuine Advantage, no BSA/FAST worries.
It Just Works.
Insert
Fuck. This. Microsoft OSes have officially dropped out my of acceptance forever. This is what amounts to a dialer and adware package in the fucking kernel, with datamining tacked on as a final insult. This more than anything shows how Microsoft really feels about its "customers." I am not a statistic; I am not a "consumer." And now, I am never, ever knowingly going to pass a single red cent to Microsoft ever again. If I hadn't already made my home a Linux shop, this would fucking well be the last push I needed.
Please, by all means pursue this with the utmost zeal, Microsoft. This will be your Sony rootkit, and I for one will laugh like a madwoman as I watch you all burn in the flames of Hell's class-action lawsuit. There is nothing I love more than seeing an arrogant criminal hang himself by his own hand.
~Eien no Inori wo Sasagete~ Searching for my Hatsumi...
what you agreed to in the EULA that you didn't read.
..don't panic
May I make a suggestion? Use the free VMWare player and the distro image of your choice to begin the migration to Linux.
a t/45
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/c
I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.
When the word patent is used as an adjective, one meaning is:How did we get from that meaning toAnd all patents seem to be obfuscated in this way. Perl scripts are more readable - at least those can be interpreted by a machine! Why isn't it a requirement that the information be presented so that (a) it is clear what is patented, and (b) once the patent expires, the information can be used by others?
Just another way in which the patent system needs reform, IMO.
>north
You're an immobile computer, remember?
I never thought I'd play the Microsoft apologist, but getting a patent that covers a broad swath of how to display ads on a computer may be their plan to keep advertising off the desktop. Being the devil's advocate (pun intended), Microsoft may want to sue companies as a way to make them go away. As more malware hides deeper into the OS, this might an arrow in the quiver to combat the use for profit.
It's also possible that this is intended for another go at a DVR. Not that I would store documents on my DVR, it seems logical to want to be able to throw ads in there in the most efficient way possible.
However, if taken at first glance, it appears Microsoft has truly come up with yet another innovative way to make Windows an even more awful user experience. Way to go, Microsoft!