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Microsoft Patents the Mother of All Adware
An anonymous reader writes "Ars Technica has an article on the mother of all adware patents filed by Microsoft: 'It's such a tremendously bad idea that it's almost bound to succeed. Microsoft has filed another patent, this one for an "advertising framework" that uses "context data" from your hard drive to show you advertisements and "apportion and credit advertising revenue" to ad suppliers in real time.' Ars discusses this disturbing concept, which was originally unearthed by Information Week and we first discussed last week."
I wonder, if my hard drive is filled with pirated Microsoft software, will they show me advertisements for The Pirate Bay?
We can only hope that this makes it into an early service pack for Vista, and that Microsoft announces it poorly, resulting wholesale defection of their corporate user-base to Apple and Linux-based desktops.
Oh no! My Windows machine screen is full up with porn advertisements
I wonder, if my hard drive is filled with pirated Microsoft software, will they show me advertisements for The Pirate Bay?
Yes, you will get advertising for The Pirate Bay, but don't be fooled -- every other computer near you will get advertisements for the BSA.
Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
Damn straight! Do you know how hard it is to find hairy, MILF, natural boobs and stocking porn!?!
Noooooo. They either (most of the time) shave it, have young chicks, chicks with the cartoonish big boobs, stockings and shaved, etc.....
Sorry, I don't want my porn to look like child porn - I want grass on the infield AND wrinkles AND stockings AND real boobs. God, who the fuck came up with today's porn!
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
Let's hope someone gets this bad boy working under WINE.
/Sarcasm
Could that be what they have in mind? A free OS I mean?
Given that patents can be awarded for '(existing idea) but on the internet', I wonder if the formulation '(existing idea) over my dead body' is also allowable?
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
They have patented targeted pop-ups. So, being the evil corporation they are, won't they sue all advertisers that use pop-up advertisements out of business?
If we're lucky, Microsoft will go all Microsoft on the online ad-agencies and knock them out of the competition, or buy them up. In which case, Microsoft will produce buggy ad-software that doesn't correctly display ads, they'll lose their clientelle, and problem solved = no more ads for the pop-up blocker to block!
On the flip side...this is one of those cases where you would almost expect them to get it right. But again, it is Microsoft.
The only thing between us and quiet dinners is a patent on telemarketing.
The only thing between us and world peace is a patent on warfare.
And, the only thing between me and a karma deficit is a patent on insightful commentary.
Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
"involving your ass with some ascii: Microsoft -> you (pre-patent) ( o ) microsoft -> you (post-patent) ( O ) any questions?"
Are you saying my fluffy bunny tail will get even fluffier after the patent? Woohoo!!!
[microsoft_speaking]
Well, you only paid for a license to use our software based upon our terms.
We're changing the terms of the license. Pray we don't alter the terms any further.
[/microsoft_speaking]
if you steal from one source, that is plagiarism, if you steal from many, well, that's just research.
They knew that. It was the first phase in their scheme:
1) install Windows on as many machine as possible.
And now that the "Year of Linux Desktop" is coming, they are going to the second phase.