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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]
Does this in any way relate to KFC... i nearly ditched linux got vista so that Colonel would get me some fried Chicken!! Then I read the story.... Damn it makes me hungry!
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.
My limits finally being hit.
After swearing it off since my disaster with RedHat 4, I now know I am going to make the effort to explore Linux again. My email, browsing and documents are mine, and if the OS is capable of poking through them to advance the interests and profits of someone else, then the party is over. I can't trust them when they say they'd never do that; if the capability exists, it will get used at some point in time. I'll keep a windows box for gaming, but not much else, and certainly not any accurate identifable personal information.
...which delivers targeted advertising as 'part of the OS.'...
So, I guess this officially makes Microsoft Windows adware/spyware. I wonder if Spybot and Adaware will now remove Windows as part of it's run-through. One can certainly hope so.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
I'm not sure about the legality of Claim 11... I'm not an ambulance-chaser, but it'd seem that retrieving "user document files, user email, user music files, podcast files, computer status messages, and a profile database storing existing tag data" without our consent/knowledge would be prosecutable...
Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
You do not understand the difference between an application and an operating system. Please stop posting.
Everyone who wants to see Microsoft's hold on our industry diminish should strongly encourage Ballmer and the rest of his numbskulls to pursue this plan with all possible speed.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
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?
to fight Google.
You see, they look at Google and do not get jealous of Google's achievements per se, they get jealous of Google's revenue streams and hence are attacking the revenue stream (advertising) without adding value to the consumer.
Now, you may argue that this bloatware will make the OS cheaper, but what I think will likely happen over the long run (if this ever goes through) is that the cheapest OS will cost the same and people will have to buy a "premium" version to avoid the ads. If people complain, Microsoft will point out that they got the ad-supported version "free" with the OEM computer (while not mentioning the OEM also paid for that copy).
When I first heard the name "Windows Genuine Advantage," I thought, "hey, great; I've finally got an advantage over those smug Mac OS X and LInux users!" Then, of course, came the awful truth.
When I first heard the name "Trusted Computing," I thought, "hey, great; does this, like, mean I can make clicky-clicky on links in the sketchiest of web pages without gasping in shock at the horrors of pathological proctology?" Then, of course, came the awful truth.
This evening, upon reading the name "Advertising Services Architecture," I thought, "hey, great; is this a cool new enabling technology that will this help me sell more stuff and make more money on eBay?" Then, yet again, came the awful truth, as pointed out in the link to this article.
As far as I know, these are but three of the 100 reasons I'll be speechless for Microsoft Vista. Or saying "Wow!" But: Is there some context in the English language in which "Wow!" means "I've got an axe buried in my head?" (Being speechless does, after all, seem to be an appropriate response to such trauma, and so I was trying to make the connection between the two.) Because after all the all the aforementioned truths, after finding out that this vast infrastructure for which I'm paying has nothing to do whatsoever with that for which I want to use a computer, well, that's kind of what I imagine it feels like.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, write technology blogs.
Yeah, but that's free as in communism. This gonna be free like America!
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.
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.
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Welcome to Slashdot! Would you like to be a moderator?
Too bad.
(rot13) rpbzbab@tznvy.pbz
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
This may be Microsoft's answer to Google. And, incidentally, to Linux.
Microsoft already has a tiered operating system - the "business model" version of Vista is significantly more expensive than the "consumer model". The logical extension of this is a free consumer model with ads, and an expensive business model without ads.
This has many advantages for Microsoft. First, it's an answer to Google, which is ad-supported but doesn't have much of a lock-in mechanism, like Microsoft does. Second, it's an answer to Linux - preloaded consumer grade Windows becomes ad-supported, which is probably worth more than the current preload charge. It even helps Microsoft deal with piracy. The consumer version will be free. The business version will come with mandatory online services (they'll call it something like "Managed Workgroups") that will tie it to the mothership in Redmond.
I think this will only be for people who use Home versions of the product. Those who use business versions won't get the ads because its a distraction. But still its kind of annoying for us Helldesk geeks. I get complaints when they see an ad on a website that they can't get rid of with {insert adware masquerading as ad blocker}.
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'm pretty sure that Windows 95 was a task manager / GUI layer running on top of DOS 7. The Kernel was rather Mach-like with tightly bound cruft layers, and came out with WIN NT (the even more crashy and useless series 3.xx) circa 1993. A marvel of "engineering" that will soon bind in even more helpful utilities for the burgeoning malware community. Too darn bad.
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!
...but at least we'll have chicken.
Chris Mattern
Another angle is that MS wants to block Google from doing this, escalating their classic vaporware tactics to the IP stage. Google'd be hard put to offer a "google desktop" or "google OS" that didn't violate this patent in one way or the other.
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer