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Microsoft Seeks Another OS-Level Adware Patent
theodp writes "Microsoft has just published a patent application for advertising triggered by sequences of user actions, which describes how to interrupt game playing, music listening, and photo viewing with pop-up ads ('the components may be integrated directly into the operating system'). So will this ad technology get a free pass from Windows Defender?"
One good thing about all these things is that, pretty soon people will be so horrified by the user experience in the Windows, they will be pushed into adopting Linux. After all it is the well integrated pop-up blocker that created the initial mass of downloads for Firefox.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Man, this kicks ass! I cant wait till MS actually implements this in windows. This is the kind of idea that could really spark a revolution.
Admittedly it would be better described as a revolt... by windows users, but whatever... if MS wants to shoot themselves in the foot they should go for it. And by patenting it the ensure that no other OS will follow suit.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
I'm amazed that anyone would think that e-mail and games are worth have an ad forced into their face. But then, I'd rather be solving problems than trough-feeding.
These patents are being presented with Microsoft's long term business goals in mind- to integrate ads into the OS as they make their shift towards SaaS of the coming years and to integrate with Windows Live among other things... since they seem to think the thick client will go the way of the dodo (what morons, the real killer thin client is a portable pc, laptop, phone, etc.. not one without it's own OS and defined userspace) and they will be able to create a (for lack of a better word) layer or shim for advertising which they will charge for advertising on. Think of the "cloud" crap you keep hearing about from Mr. Ballmer.
The good news is, this will fail miserably similar to Netzero's old revenue model (when they first started). The bad news is, they have a larger money vault than Uncle Scrooge so they will recover and continue to make idiot ideas...
While having something like this built in to the OS would be a scary prospect, and the potential inability to disable it.
But I see an upside to this technology. If we're lucky, M$ will never get around to implementing these technologies, and thanks to their patents, no one else will be able to implement such invasive advertising tactics.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm completely against software and business model patents, they're the worst of the worst when it comes to patent trolls. But if the upside of a broken patent system is bad business practices don't get implemented, at least there's some benefit.
Actually I think as a community we should become a little more proactive on such things. Let's think up some other invasive technology ideas, things we'd never want to see implemented in the wild, and patent them. And never licence these patents. Keep the evilness out of software by making it defaultly illegal.
That argument actually favors MS not putting this in payed windows (or at least, full-price windows)
1. Keeping existing user base is also important to making profit.
2. Gaining user base is important to making profits.
3. Users don't like advertisements, especially when they didn't ask for them.
4. MS is aware of #3 due to their creation of an anti-spyware/adware program.
5. Users tend to move away only when they have active dislike, not when they don't notice somthing.
6. The less than moral advertising agencies on the web have no low to which they will not stoop.
Combining these facts, we can conclude Microsofts next actions will most likely consist of:
1. Full priced Windows will not have these advertisements
2. A reduced price and/or free Windows may be released, with advertisements of varying invasiveness
3. Microsoft will sue any advertising agency violating this patent on Windows, to keep such advertisements off Windows, keeping the user base happier
4. Microsoft may or may not sue agencies violating this patent on other OSes - if they do not, then that's more encouragement for users to use Windows, where they don't have such a hassle.
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Connection too slow for X forwarding? Try "ssh -CX user@host"
I don't disagree that this is how it will start, but the tin-foil hat me says that based on the past performance of MS, they will ultimately end up doing both: charging for windows and selling ads for that same installation. It may not be on "purpose", but I believe it will happen.
The reality, as I see it from under my shiny, crinkly dome shaped lid is that *everything* is subject to being plastered with ads and the computer desktop is not exempt. Someone somewhere will eventually pay enough to get their ad on MS's desktop. period.
I also wouldn't put it past MS to "accidently" serve up ads to those who have paid to avoid them. As we all know, these kinds of things happen all the time. And many people have been "trained" to believe that this is just the way computers are. Sometimes they just don't work the way you tell them to... MS has spent decades teaching people that computers sometimes do random things for no reason and that's apparently totally acceptable to most. So why not the same with the ads?
MS will integrate this technology into the OS directly and then "turn it off" from some server, so even those who have the "ad-free" version of Windows will have the adware running on their system, it will just be checking to see whether it should serve up the ads or not. When that server goes down, it will "default" to serving up the ads until MS gets around to repairing it.
I now doff my recyclable metal head covering.
man, I feel like mold.