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Microsoft's Hidden Windows 8 Feature: Ads
MojoKid writes "Despite the fact that I've been using Windows 8 for the past three weeks, I somehow managed to overlook a rather stark feature in the OS: ads. No, we're not talking about ads cluttering up the desktop or login screen (thankfully), but rather ads that can be found inside of some Modern UI apps that Windows ships with. That includes Finance, Weather, Travel, News and so forth. On previous mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android, seeing ads inside of free apps hasn't been uncommon. It's a way for the developer to get paid while allowing the user to have the app for free. However, while people can expect ads in a free app, no one expects ads in a piece of software that they just paid good money for."
You paid MS to license Windows8. You didn't buy a copy. Ergo, you are agreeing to pay MS a specified sum of money to view ads which happen to come with programs that you can also use.
I can hardly believe this article was posted without researching the EULA. I would imagine it addresses this new feature. If it does, that's not news (other than the usual EULA hilarity). If it does not, that's news.
The only thing that's "news" here is the rather unbelievable concept that you actually think people read EULAs anymore. Even if it did address it, chances are the words "built-in ads" are summed up inside three paragraphs of legalese that no one understands anyway.
Microsoft will send you the bill for their licensing of Reuters etc.
This is a stupid non-story. The reason Microsoft has ads (besides a desire to make money) is that these features are delivering content that costs money. Stock symbols don't just magically tell you their value, you have to subscribe to someone who host's live stock tickers. You have to pay Reuters, the WSJ and New York Times to publish their news stories. You have to pay the Weather channel to provide you with detailed hourly forecasts and historical data.
Microsoft is providing a premium service through the ad supported apps. And these are also applications which aren't a part of the core OS experience. If you don't want them... uninstall and pick another app without ads.
I knew this was coming the moment i saw ads on the new XBox interface and was further reinfirced when MS did everything they could for you to NOT be able to diasable 'Metro'. First and foremost, Metro is there FOR OTHER PEOPLE to use your computers' resources.
Good-bye
How about we just cut the "M$" bullshit and speak like adults, how about that? That bit was fucking old when Win95 was new, its even lamer now. If you don't want to type the name or be snarky just use MSFT which is the stock ticker, it lets you be snarky without looking like some loser that figured out how to look up memes last week.
As for TFA....Is it possible that Ballmer is shorting the stock? or is he just THAT incompetent as a CEO? I know Forbes labeled him worst CEO but I didn't think he was also the most retarded, the kind of shit he's been pulling lately frankly reminds me of the PHB from Dilbert, in fact if you'd have told me about turning the desktop into a giant cell phone, pushing ads onto the paid version, and trying to force touch to be the primary interface when less than 4% of the desktops that ship NOW have touch, much less the hundreds of millions of laptops and desktops MSFT wants to upgrade? i would have honestly thought you were simply ripping off a Dilbert strip.
I mean Good God, look at the man's "accomplishments" during his tenure, rushing the X360 out with a 2 billion dollar flaw, spending 8.5 billion of Skype thus making sure the carriers treat WinPhone like an STD wrapped in AIDS infected needles, Zune, Kin, killing PlaysForSure and soon Windows Messenger, Windows 8 forcing desktops to have a cellphone UI...its a fucking trainwreck over there, he is making the reign of the Pepsi guy at Apple look good by comparison.
If the board doesn't get his fat sweaty clueless ass out of the big chair in the next year and a half i could see them becoming another RIM, a company only holding onto legacy markets while the rest of the world forgets they even existed. Hell the ONLY things that are saving his ass on the desktop is that Apple has no desire to own the low end and the Linux devs won't quit futzing with critical subsystems long enough for it to become stable, otherwise they might be in trouble even there.
I know I've been hearing from a LOT of customers lately just to make sure i could still get Win 7, nobody wants that damned Win 8 and after 2 billion in ads they sold just 4 million copies...that's $500 for every $40 sale. talk about a waste of advertising money! As a retailer I'm just glad Win 7 is good until 2020 and is solid as a rock, hopefully fatass will be "pursuing other interests" before Win 9 comes out so someone with a functioning brain can right the ship. as it is now its as retarded as someone slapping a $100K sticker on a Ford and thinking that means it can compete with Ferrari...nope, it just means you run off the market you had in pursuit of a market that doesn't want your product...brilliant move Ballmer, just fucking brilliant. I can see why they pay you the big bucks.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.