"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. Is it a problem? Let's tackle this from a couple of different angles." Hadn't seen them either - I don't use those applications - but this is pretty despicable.
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Member since:2005-11-13
Member since:2006-12-05
Last I checked, the full retail copy of Windows didn't cost in the tens of dollars. Some low-end upgrades might be $99.99999, but they're still basically a hundred. You're probably alluding to the to $40 special upgrade promotion for Windows 8. If so, you'd better run out and get a copy while the special pricing lasts, because it won't stay there for long. Additionally, you'd better have a copy of Windows already--because the promotion is only for the upgrade copies.
I'm pretty damn sure I had to pay $200 for Windows XP Professional years ago just to get away from the trainwreck that was Windows ME, and if it was the "full" version it would have been a whopping $300. Vista and 7 came with prices of up to $400 if I remember right (one of the many reasons I ditched the OS starting with that release; SKU nightmares and increasingly ridiculous pricing schemes being only two big ones).
And while I don't care too much about Windows 8's pricing myself (Windows 8 is Windows, Windows was always expensive, it's 2012 and that's obvious by now, nothing new...), a quick glance on Amazon shows that Windows 8 Pro will jump right up to $200 soon enough. And yes... again... that's just the upgrade, once again.
Member since:2008-04-08
Member since:2008-05-15
Member since:2005-07-12
Well, considering most of the ads aren't even visible unless you scroll past ALL the content.
And, again, they only show up in the apps that have new content updated throughout the day.
The sports app is a good example. You launch it, it's a (nearly) full screen photo from a recent game that links to an article by (the one that popped up this time is from AP). On the right edge hints at more content.
Scroll over, there are 7 headlines, two with a photo, all captioned, and each from different news sources. Farther to the right you see the edge of a scroll box with 15 headlines.
Scroll the screen more are links to videos (6 are presented), plus links to slideshows (6 presented), plus the schedule for whichever sport, followed by a list of your favorite teams, and finally, an advertisement. There is no content beyond the ad. The "Today in Sports" section gives you 4 screens full without an ad, the Hockey section gives 6+.
Follow a link, you get page after page of stories, with a small add every 5 pages or so.
This is far less advertising than, say, when you spend $6 on a magazine.
It is also only these apps that are being constantly updated with new, licensed and copyrighted content that have these ads. The messaging app, mail, people, maps, camera, photo, or RDP apps have no ads.
You're hardly having these ads forced upon you.
Member since:2006-12-05
Problem is, I already checked like a week ago in my test install of the RTM evaluation (I'm actually surprised it took so long to hit Slashdot and OSNews...), and it seems that the ad loads whether you scroll all the way over to the end or not. So no matter what you're adding to the ad views (and using your own bandwidth to do it) whether you actually read all the way to the end or not.
They certainly are forced upon your bandwidth, it seems. Anyway, the ability is now there. Now it'll just spiral until it gets worse and worse, and then it will get out of control. Like... gasp... subscription television services. I don't even remember what the of the ads that I saw were exactly (even if I did, I'd rather not say because it would only benefit these companies), but they were laughably obnoxious. I mean... come on... they're advertising a fucking laundry detergent, of all things, in a news applica..., er, I mean, app? Seriously? WTF?!?
Member since:2009-08-18
No ads are "unobtrusive" when you don't want to be force-fed these companies' shit, especially after you've paid a ridiculous amount of money for a piece of software. [/q]
You are aware there were adverts in ancient egypt.
Microsoft T & Cs in the app store is that you are allowed to define you own pricing architecture.
[q]Literally--for anything good that ever comes to Windows, there are dozens of major, major regressions.[\q]
No there isn't if the Application is built properly using the Windows APIs.
Member since:2012-08-01
It's not the money. Fact is, any kind of ads, unobtrusive or not, still work. They might not work as well as a billboard outside your window, but they will.
Found this article from a while back, remember it had lots of interesting stuff.
http://mindhacks.com/2009/03/04/psychology-and-advertising/
The true problem is, one, they'll make loads of money.
Two, people will get used to it to a certain degree.
Three, the system is in place, meaning, you'll see other applications using it, not just Windows built in.
Four, they'll be making loads of money, meaning that system works, so, that means, with this new revenue stream, they'll stop selling Windows and start selling ads.
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Member since:
2006-12-05
No ads are "unobtrusive" when you don't want to be force-fed these companies' shit, especially after you've paid a ridiculous amount of money for a piece of software.
Windows, that you have to pay hundreds for at retail, is adware. Who would've guessed? I think Lavasoft needs to push out a new version if they're still around that offers to wipe the disk clean if Windows 8 is installed because, after all, it's just a big, glorified, expensive example of what it's fighting.
Literally--for anything good that ever comes to Windows, there are dozens of major, major regressions. Commercial adware... gotta love it.