The obvious measure would be statistical analysis to see whether some IP addresses are generating an excessive amount of clicks, especially on the same ads.
Not so obvious, given that you can have *lots* of individual users sharing the same IP address (e.g., AOL).
Option 1 (Microsoft): *buy* a program, install it on your machine, wait for it to start each time you want to use it, keep the CD around in case you want to re-install it, spend hours talking to customer support about *your problem*, or
Option 2 (Google): get a free program immediately accessible as a web service?
I'd go for the second one. The price I pay: innocuous advertisements. I can live with that!
The mapping software is a good example of the differences in philosophies between Microsoft and Google. Microsoft has to stick with its desktop model, since that's where all their money is. Google has to stick with the web-service model, since that's where their money (and advantage) is. Based on the above discussion, I'd give Google a better chance of success.
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The obvious measure would be statistical analysis to see whether some IP addresses are generating an excessive amount of clicks, especially on the same ads.
Not so obvious, given that you can have *lots* of individual users sharing the same IP address (e.g., AOL).
Which of the below options would you choose:
Option 1 (Microsoft):
*buy* a program, install it on your machine, wait for it to start each time you want to use it, keep the CD around in case you want to re-install it, spend hours talking to customer support about *your problem*, or
Option 2 (Google):
get a free program immediately accessible as a web service?
I'd go for the second one. The price I pay: innocuous advertisements. I can live with that!
The mapping software is a good example of the differences in philosophies between Microsoft and Google. Microsoft has to stick with its desktop model, since that's where all their money is. Google has to stick with the web-service model, since that's where their money (and advantage) is. Based on the above discussion, I'd give Google a better chance of success.