Microsoft wants ads on “your” desktop
Ah well, remember last night? I posted that thing about how Microsoft decided that they could do whatever they wanted to your computer without telling you? You know, how Microsoft has some boundary issues on what’s yours and what’s theirs?
Well check out this article talking about the adware patent that Microsoft filed that shows how they’d like to see what you are doing on your own computer and pop-up ads based on that. Yes, that’s right, you’ll be doing something on your desktop, in some application (not web based) and Microsoft will know what you’re doing, what the content you are working with is and interrupt you with some ads. Check out this quote from the patent:
Finally, in the screen display shown in FIG. 7, a user has navigated to a user interface 700 for accessing and viewing photos 702 stored on the user device. For example, the user may have downloaded photos 702 from a digital camera and may be viewing the photos in the user display 700. The system may determine based on these user actions that a likely task that the user would like to perform would be to send one or more of the photos 702 to an online photo development center. Additionally, the system may determine that the user does not currently have any particular online photo development service subscriptions. As such, the system has selected and presented a number of advertisements for online photo development services in a preview pane 704 of the user interface 700.
Here’s FIG. 7. You’re going to be working on something and Microsoft is going to pop an ad in front of you. It implies a lot of information about analyzing what actions you are performing on what content. Actions and content that you are taking on hardware and software that you own are going back to the mothership, all for the purpose of interrupting said work with ads.
Presumably this is to go in support of a subscription based model, where you won’t actually own anything, you’ll just be renting from Microsoft. Maybe you’ll be able to pay them more to not get the ads. It blurs the boundaries (which weren’t really blurry) about what’s yours and private and what is known to others.
I’m fairly sure I think this is a bad idea. But, on the other hand if you opt into this and elect to make this information open and available to Microsoft that’s your business. On back on the first hand, it ads to the erosion of privacy. Remember back in the day when it was determined that DoubleClick was tracking your movements across sites that it had ads on? Yeah, that was a loooong time ago. Now nobody cares. It’s similar to that - sure right now everyone tracks you on the web, knows all about you and sends you targetted ads - but at least there’s a clear division there. When you’re in a browser you are being monitored - there’s steps you can take if you are dedicated to try and trip up that monitoring but for the most part no one uses them. When you are just on your desktop, no monitoring.
If this vision comes to pass, your fortress of solitude, what you do in the safety and privacy of your own desktop will now be added to that monitored pool. You can bet if an ad network knows about what you have and do on your desktop it will tie that in with what you see and where you go online and put together an even tighter picture of your digital identity. So while I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong (as long as you have to firmly opt in to it and there’s no microsoft stealth loopholes) I do think it’s part of a slippery slope. Unfortunately, I think we’re already well on our way down the slope and this is just one more little grease puddle on the way down.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Well that’s real nice of them. Sometimes I get asked why I use a Mac and Mac OS X, my most used response is “It stays the fuck out of my way” meaning no dialog boxes, pop ups, paper clips, etc. interrupting me. Obviously Microsoft doesn’t think they interrupt people enough, XP was bad, Vista is worse, and 7 is apparently not going to change that.
Sebastian
September 14th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Mmm.. MacOS. Yes. I’ve only ever had to work fulltime on a windows box for about 6 months, I didn’t mind it too much while I was there, but realized how not good it was after I switched off. Mostly I’ve been a linux user, but some years back my linux box died and I switched to an old Mac I had in the interim… never quite made it back. Everything kind of just works with MacOS. :)
Thank god there’s no paperclip!
September 14th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
I use Macs at home, but have to support Winblows to make my living. Having said that, I think as long as whatever is done is disclosed up front and the user is given a choice to participate or not, then that works for me.
I have heard that in the future The Borg might move to the subscription based model for their OS and offer a “free” (read: ad supported) version.
Is it a bad idea? Undoubtedly. But, as long as its clear to the end user what they are giving up in terms of privacy then its up to them to do the right thing and tell The Borg to go fuck themselves, stick a crowbar in their wallet and pay for the OS (or whatever The Borg attempts to lure people in with).
September 15th, 2007 at 10:42 am
I’m a long time PC guy. My girlfriend uses Macs exclusively, and I have to say that when I’m at her place and have to resort to using her computer, I’m miserable. I just can’t find my way around that OS. I can’t figure out where the files are–and there’s no f88king right click drop down menus. Drives me nuts. Plus, I had a helluva time setting up her wireless router and printer. I thought Macs were supposed to be just “plug it in and go”. I don’t think so. Her printer will just mysteriously stop working and I have to reinstall it all the time.
Of course, if Windows keeps getting more and more intrusive, I’ll switch to a Mac or Linux.
September 15th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Michael, I agree with you that it isn’t wrong as long as everything is disclosed up front. But there’s two things I worry about - one, as this becomes a reality, it pushes the envelope on acceptable and expected privacy in the wrong direction. And I fear that if Microsoft feels at liberty to do this stealth upgrade to you (benign as it may be) when you actually own everything how much more will it feel free to do when you’re just a renter? So, it’s more a “political” fear I have with the move.
Max, huh, that’s interesting. I’ve always had real good luck working with macs, mostly everything just works. Same for my wife - although I admit, I always have a 3rd party multi-button mouse on my computer and when I go to my wife’s I kind of don’t know how to do stuff. I think part of it is familiarity - it’s easier to use what you know, but I’d recommend grabbing a 3 (or more) button mouse and using that on a mac, it’ll be much more comfortable. :)
October 24th, 2007 at 10:27 am
[...] Microsoft isn’t throwing the towel, but they’re already making excuses. They’re now saying (and I paraphrase)… “Yeah, yeah, yeah, search has been really profitable, whoop-de-doo, but that’s totally yesterday’s news. Coming up it’s going to be rich media ads!” Which confuses me, I mean, how is that still not search driven? That is, it’s just as easy to serve a text ad as a rich media ad to a search result. And Microsoft still won’t be eating at that table unless they do something better than Tafiti. Oh wait they are, they want to put their grubby little ads all over your desktop. [...]
August 7th, 2008 at 5:16 am
i liek teh idea its kinda cool lyke if im looking at pr0n they might give meh a link to get better pr0n. its 1337! it pwns!