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Microsoft To Add Ads To Smart Search
Vanderhoth writes "Today, Microsoft said its advertisers will be able to target users not just on Web search results pages but directly inside Windows Smart Search. David Pann, general manager of Microsoft's Search Advertising Group, said in an interview that advertisers don't have to do additional setup to participate. The Smart Search ads will feature a preview of the websites the ad will send people to, as well as click-to-call info and site links, which are additional links under the main result that direct users deeper into a website to the most likely page they might want."
So Microsoft wants to sell advertising on your desktop now??
Greedy cocksuckers.
Is Microsoft trying deliberately to lose its customers?
Free Martian Whores!
Did the creators of Metro UI consider that ads would be some of the smart tiles? Look, iOS's spotlight search may be boring, but at least it doesn't show me ads along with my apps/music/contact results. Even Google doesn't put ads on your Android homescreen.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Any time ads are added to a purchased program or device post-purchase, you can expect a big backlash.
While this seems like a good idea to MS and advertisers, I don't want Bing ads when I'm searching on things inside my machine or to let MS know about the searches I'm doing on my own files. I also can't see that enterprises want this feature turned on. For example if you are working on a proposal to expand your company's presence in a particular Asian country next year but can't find the document that you saved earlier, do you want MS to send information to advertisers about expansion in that country? What if they proposal shouldn't be divulged yet to people inside the company much less to people outside of the company.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
That with a good firewall, you could block SS from doing anything not local, and solve this issue.
But I'm sure I'm missing something.
But really, how out of touch with reality do you have to be to think putting ads on a user's desktop is a good idea?
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
Ubuntu did it first.
Their desktop market won't sustain much more.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
We visit a Microsoft boardroom, where execs are discussing their future plans
Exec 1: Hey, I've got an idea, you know how on that android-y thingy, you can download free apps but to make their money back on them, the developers serve ads? Why don't we do that?
Exec 2: You mean serve people ads with software they've already paid for???
Exec1: Yeah!
Exec 3: Genius! Let's break for lunch!
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
Hey MS. Targeted ads, pot, kettle, black something or other. Sigh.
Silence is a state of mime.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
holy fuck ball-mer is stupid.
THIS is the time to introduce this? right after xbox one constantly on fiasco and the nsa leaks? right now? really? REALLY?
and they're asking money for this? holy bejeezubus even if ubuntu does it that doesn't mean it's a good idea you know. fuck 'em. not going to use it.
how the fuck are they going to justify paying for the os and getting even more ads on your fucking screen? the metro start screen as you get it out of the box is already a giant fucking grid of billboards and nothing else.
(at least probably you can turn it off - and yeah you would pretty much be using the search to run anything if you were to use metro.. quite simply, because it's too bothersome to navigate by mouse)
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
See: http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/13/05/11/0041224/microsoft-youtube-app-strips-ads-adds-download
The hell with that crap. If they're going to shove ads right in your face like that, then they should give Windows away for free. If you're paying for the OS then there should NEVER be anything like this. Screw you, Microsoft.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
This is just awful placement. I actually would have no issue with ads inside the Bing app results (just like you would on the search page). The placement on the Smart Search, visible from the main start screen, is just atrocious. I'd just as soon disable the Bing from smart search anyway. Microsoft made a great impression on my with Metro UI, both in Windows Phone, and in Windows 8/RT in that it always looks clean and unfettered by advertising. They'll be quickly losing that advantage if they steer it in the direction of the XBox's UI with ads everywhere.
Pretty sure it's the steaming pile that replaced the oft-maligned "start menu" when Windows 8 was squirted out.
My Girlfriend has been using Windows 7 on her laptop and trying different flavors of Linux on a spare machine. This just helped her make up her mind that her next machine either won't have Windows (Mac), or will be completely Linux-able.
We know that adware on lowend PCs was worth $75-90 per unit. I'd assume advertising revenue on the OS would be worth at least a little more. OEM windows 8 + Office was $120. Which means its entirely possible the ad revenue might be enough for Microsoft to make Windows 8 + Office (home) a free (as in beer) OS with the advertising. Or maybe even a slight subsidy like $50 for OEMs on systems over $500.
WinRT is much cheaper closer to $30. There we could be looking at something like a $100-150 subsidy which might be almost all the hardware cost. You could be looking at fairly good WinRT systems for $99 or $199.
I have no information but as idle speculation this might be a very very interesting change of strategy for home / small business.
I could understand this if Windows was a free product with an ad-free pro upgrade but for a full product this is inexcusable
Even better, it's a feature that the high-willingness-to-pay corporate market will fucking loath(Oh, sure, we don't mind if our strategy leaks to who-knows-who every time somebody searches for an email...), it's a feature that will just help them look trashy and cheap compared to Apple(who already excels at making their competitors look trashy and cheap), and it is closest to the featureset of a more mature product that Google gives away for free with ads(and Microsoft wants you to pay for).
Should be a big win all around! Then again, though, they've mostly gotten away with it on XBL, so it could be just that bad out there.
They can try to push ads all they want, but until they get their search "feature" to work, it will be moot.
It's faster to go to Google and do a search than it is trying to find the answer through their, supposedly, integrated search.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
In other words, you are still using Windows.
Microsoft still operates as if people have no other options. This is part of their entire scheme right now. They have stated they want to add ads to both xbox 1 and windows 8, go as far to say as they were built with ad delivery in mind.
Seems appropriate, since Microsoft seems to be borrowing this trick from Canonical.
guarantees that Windows 8 / 8.1 will NEVER be utilized inside the medical field. I was already looking to have to explain to my bosses why we should not buy laptops with Windows 8 on them and this just sealed the deal for me -- HIPAA violations start at $50,000 per and go up to $150,000 per. Anything "analyzing" searches on our computer systems or networks is right out.
Thank you, Microsoft, for making my job as an administrator that much easier! It has now become so that recommending Microsoft CAN get you fired.
Dream as if you'll live forever.
Live as if you'll die tomorrow.
~Anonymous~
If MS is going to do this they need to give me something in exchange.
Free ads to support free services
- Facebook to support the free social service
- Google to support the free searches.
- TV to provide low cost entertainment (debatable)
What is MS giving us to invade our lives outside our web searches?
Mom: "Sonny, remember to buy some milk and cookies."
Me: "OK mom."
Ad: "Our voice recognition has picked up your liking for cookies. Grab some snackerdoodles today! Yum, yum, yum makes your mouth go numb! SnnnnnnnnnnnnnackerdOOdles!"
Then like in Futurama, it will be in our dreams. Long will be the days when you could buy something without ads. "Remember when you could buy a wooden chair from a carpenter without an ad permanently sealed to it? Those were the good ole' days!" people will say....
The G
Should be a big win all around! Then again, though, they've mostly gotten away with it on XBL, so it could be just that bad out there.
Just because dumbass gamer kids are willing to put up with it doesn't mean that business users will be.
This will be the new reason to buy the Professional edition of Windows - it'll give you the ability to disable the ads that you can't turn off in the Home version. Based on the heavily modified versions of Windows you can get for defense and healthcare work I'd say it's almost a given it'll be a configurable setting somewhere in the OS.
David Pann, general manager of Microsoft’s Search Advertising Group, said in an interview that advertisers don’t have to do additional setup to participate.
Well whoopee! Thanks David. Considered your next career move yet?
Better jump before your guys get the memo from SB saying that "all your staff are belong to us".
On a more serious note, I've been resisting installing the "update" from Microsoft which wanted to add "Bing search" functionality to my WIndows 7 machine...wonder if this lovely feature will also be thus rolling out to 7 users in the future?
What, their Scroogling campaign wasn't gaining enough traction, so they decided they might as well join in?
Microsoft said its advertisers will be able to target users not just on Web search results pages but directly inside Windows Smart Search.
I hadn't actually heard/read the phrase "Windows Smart Search" before. From the sound of things, I guess it's "smart" for someone, not sure it's the end-user. Perhaps someone at MS liked the Unity shopping lens...
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I mean why not give people even less motivation to switch to your new product they already have no interest in, lets fill it with ads!
Hey microsoft your not so important anymore that we cant live without you stop trying to push yourself the rest of the way out the door just some friendly advice...
no wait pelase do
The Walmart of the Internet.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
and I've ceased using windows even for gaming - Wine handles GW just fine for me.
Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
So people are complaining about MS putting ads into something that has been paid for by the customer. Understandable. Yet this same thing has been happening on TV and cinemas for years yet nobody seems to mind.....
WTF? Why is parent un-moddable?
Never mind. Wow, do I feel dumb.
What no antitrust suggestions? wow Slashdot members are slipping.
Jack of all trades,master of none
yes, the configuration is a hosts file.
*bdamsh*
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Just for shits and grins, I downloaded the Windows 8.1 Blue preview ISO and slapped it into a VM on my system (Debian Linux, thank you very much..).. The first damn thing it INSISTED on doing was either having me login to whatever BS backend they have for it, OR create a backend account.. I recall on the Win 8 preview there was a link there to merely create a local system account, which was what I wanted to do, but it seems like the fuckwads at MS took even THAT away.. Don't know what I did, but eventually I managed to find a screen to create a local account.. Once I got into Win8.1, I do see they've done some improvements over the steaming turd that is Windows 8.. The only reason I took the time to check Win8.1 out is because, since i'm the defacto neighborhood support "slave", I guarantee I'll be asked to help figure MS's latest pile of shit out.. Personally, its Linux for me.... (yes, I AM a Linux fanboy.. thank you very much...)
THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
Of course, this is what Gartner said last week 8.1 would win back the corporate market....
There is nothing wrong with yr Internet. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission - NSA
Unless they are utter morons, they'll have a GP switch to turn this off. Of course, I said the same thing about having a GP switch to 'just boot to desktop, for fuck's sake, there isn't a touchscreen in this entire building', and look how that turned out...
The only reason I took the time to check Win8.1 out is because, since i'm the defacto neighborhood support "slave", I guarantee I'll be asked to help figure MS's latest pile of shit out.. Personally, its Linux for me.... (yes, I AM a Linux fanboy.. thank you very much...)
I have a friend who finally reached the point where he just could not face dealing with another sick Windows box. He gave everyone an ultimatum..Let him put some version of Linux on their machines,or he was cutting them loose to fend for themselves...Now he's converted his family to using it and a number of others. Anyone who hears he does support and calls asking for help with Windows is told no,end of discussion.