Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Will Stop Spamming Android Users With Office Ads In The Notification Tray (betanews.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via BetaNews: The notification tray in Android serves a very specific purpose. There's a clue in the name -- and it's nothing to do with advertising. Android user Thom Holwerda was upset this week when Microsoft Office for Android started to spam him with ads for apps he already had installed. There are many questions here, one of which is why is Microsoft ignoring Google's guidelines and using the notification tray to display ads? Thom, from the website OSnews, found that the copy of Word he had installed on his Nexus 6P was spamming him with ads for Excel and Powerpoint -- which he was already using. Mark Wilson from BetaNews contacted Microsoft and they said, "Our team is actively investigating the occurrences of these notifications." After pressing further into the issue, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Microsoft is deeply committed to ensuring that we maintain the best possible experience for our customers in addition to complying with all applicable policies. We have taken the action to turn off these notifications. This update will be reflected in the coming days." In other semi-related news, users can now remove the 260-character path length limit in the Windows 10 build 14352.
"Microsoft is deeply committed to ensuring that we maintain the best possible experience for our customers in addition to complying with all applicable policies. "
Uhoh, so that means they won't quit spamming you in the Notification Center, and clicking the close X will instead take you to the play store page for office.
Likely they will make sure there are 10-20 chime reminder sounds that will play too whenever the ad spam is onscreen.
After the next update they will raise he price of their apps and install malware to open the play store and purchase office apps for you again all silently in the background.
People don't like being spammed with ads in any notification tray. Learn your lesson, Microsoft. This applies to GWX every bit as much as it applies to Office.
FTA: "Microsoft is deeply committed to ensuring that we maintain the best possible experience for our customers". This from the company that brought us trickery-based forced 'upgrades' to Windows 10? Who are they trying to fool?
Why do companies bother to say this kind of crap? Do they think we believe them? Is it a nervous tic? Maybe the marketing droid equivalent of boilerplate legal disclaimers? These assholes should really listen to themselves some time. Then again, self examination is clearly not something they're willing or able to do.
Maybe corporate person-hood, along with the legal rights it bestows, should also allow for corporations to be locked up in psych wards until their sociopathic / psychotic / schizophrenic symptoms and behaviours are under control and they're judged fit to return to society.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
One of the beauties of Android?
You can just "turn off notifications" on a per-app basis. It's literally like one press-hold and one click from any notification you see.
All the shit Microsoft have pulled the last year only mean that a lot of people gets pissed off.
Microsoft has become that guy in the office nobody can stand because he is a total asshole but they have to deal with him on a daily basis anyway - which means when they get the chance to get rid of him they will.
--- Reality doesn't care about your opinions, it happens anyway and if you are in the way you'll get squished.
In other semi-related news, users can now remove the 260-character path length limit in the Windows 10 build 14352."
How the fuck is that even remotely related?
"Microsoft: Where '50 Shades of Grey' is not Surburban Wife Porn, but a Management Philosophy . . . "
(evil grin)
Some day when our neural implants wake us up at 3am with notifications full of advertising spam, we'll all laugh and pine for the good old days when we could simply ignore the phone and go back to bed. We're already tumbling down the slippery slope. They can pretend to care and apologize all they want, we know the truth.
I am reminded of this:
Leela: Didn't you have ads in the 21st century?"
Fry: Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree.
- Futurama, A Fishful of Dollars
As the quote indicates, its probably far too late for us to try and draw a line at dreams -- or neural implants or system-tray notifications -- as the places where advertisements dare not go. We've repeatedly shown the advertisers that they can stick their messages anywhere and we'll roll over quietly.
I had to uninstall the version of Office that came with Windows 10 to get rid of the 'Upgrade Office Today!' notifications. I upgraded to LibreOffice, of course.