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?"

Comments

Adware to interrupt games???

[TaoPhoenix]

I'm dying to see the reaction to this.

"Quick, get to the health fountain.... What the.. My character DIED so I can learn about Diet Caffeine Free Tab??"

I See

[Anonymous Coward]

I see you are rebooting again, click here to burn a Live CD, courtesy of Canonical.

May be something good will come out of this.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

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.

Hints of a Free Windows

[dsginter]

This probably means that Microsoft is preparing a "Free as in ad supported" version of Windows for the day when FOSS starts taking over (FASS = Free, Ad Supported Software).

See the forest and the trees

[jgarra23]

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...

I have a better name than FASS

[StressGuy]

How about "Community Released, Ad Supported Software"?

A benign explanation?

[jmaslak]

Just maybe, perhaps, this will give MS a way of going after spyware and malware authors - on the basis of patent infringement.

It might not be a patent that they intend to use, except in the courts...anything that gets rid of Windows malware helps Microsoft, after all.

Re:kdawson fud of the day.

[jombeewoof]

Ad sponsored software is one thing, but when I pay for a program and and updates to that program insert ads that I did not agree to view that is not acceptable.
Opera didn't just one day start showing ads when there were none before.
And ad sponsored software is usually free (beer) software. You cannot sell something, and then add ads to it with a service pack or update.
That's just wrong, and informing us of it is not FUD.

You sir, are an idiot.