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Sebastian Thrun: Google's Driverless Car
All your OS are belong to US... with Apple's new advertising patent!
See, this is the problem: with our every-day activities slowly centralised and usurped by a handful of multinational juggernauts, we are quite simply at their mercy. If Google decide to turn around one day and shut down their services we have no recompense. If Microsoft shut down their messenger service, what then? What if MSN is your only lifeline to your family or friends on the other side of the world?
We invest a lot of faith into just a few large companies: Apple, Microsoft, Google. A lot of damn faith. And it's misplaced and misguided faith. We trust these vast corporations with our life -- or what constitutes our modern-day life at least: our friends, communication and entertainment.
Why do we trust them? Because we're cheap. Because there's no better alternative to Gmail or iTunes or Windows. Money makes the world go around, ladies and gentlemen. It's the very same impulse that drives us to these free services that will eventually make them unwieldy and useless.
Now that these guys have our attention -- now that we have enough invested that it's too late to back out -- you will begin to see the monetization of their services. First it will just be text-only ads. Then banners. Then full video!
Which brings us neatly onto news of Apple's new patent (PDF). As reported by the New York Times, it seems Apple has an ingenious new system that will plaster unskippable commercials onto your Apple devices at an operating-system level. Enjoying the latest episode of Fringe? WHAM! Advert! Just reaching the zenith of Muse's new album? BLAM! Some banal jingle for hemorrhoid cream.
Ominously titled 'Advertisement in Operating System', you can imagine your own nefarious uses for such an invention. Uses as wide-ranging as Flash ads in 'My Computer' to survey questions you have to stop and answer on your iPod when you go for a run.
[via New York Times]
Comments
35
Subscribe to commentsLevel 5Nov 16th 2009 10:12AM
This article is incomplete. Yes, Apple filed such a patent. However, if you look closer, this would be an ad-supported FREE version of the OS. Personally, I doubt this would take off. People would rather just pay for the ad-free version of the OS per usual than worry about saving money up front and dealing with headaches later.
Victor Agreda JrNov 16th 2009 10:25AM
It does seem odd to "sell" your OS with something that directly affects usability, doesn't it?
JordanNov 16th 2009 11:18AM
Why would Apple want a free ad-supported OS. The only way to "legally" run Mac OS is to buy their damn expensive system...by doing that you're buying the OS anyways.
Or do they want this:
"Heyyy you spent 3000 dollars on that computer last year but we have a new OS out now. You can have it for free but we're now going to blast you with ads unless you fork over money for the OS or buy a new machine"
Basically I think it boils down to Apple has a small userbase. By giving people a free OS they make nothing on the OS itself, but they make much much more over the years through advertising revenue than they would have by just selling the OS. They would want people to use the free one so that they made more, but that could hurt them in the end because people would find their OS annoying and leave. Apple just being non-consumer friendly once again.
karaNov 16th 2009 10:39AM
I think that some people that don't have the money will try it out. I think that they will also put a lot of limitations on the free os. In my personal view i would just use Linux and call it a day.
Level 5Nov 16th 2009 11:10AM
As much as I love desktop gnome/kde based Linux, the software just isn't there. I do alot of high end sound/audio processing, and Wine runs it much slower, or it's buggy. That right there kills it for me. But for someone who just needs to check e-mail, mess with basic pictures/music and surf the web, I'd say Linux for them all day. Otherwise.. Win/Mac all the way.
Brian!Nov 16th 2009 10:43AM
What drives me crazy is that you can actually GET a patent for this. Forced advertising is not some new idea. In fact, my friend had a trojan virus that did just that to his computer the other month.
Would someone who works in the Patent office, just please burn the place to the ground so we might start over?
PKNov 16th 2009 10:50AM
Why does it show Windows when it's Apple filing the patent? It looks really unfair to me.
JoePalmaNov 16th 2009 10:54AM
mmmm 151.1gb of furry porn
Sebastian AnthonyNov 16th 2009 7:38PM
That one's for you, man!
Crazy SerbNov 16th 2009 10:59AM
Brian, I'm with you... let's burn that patent office place down and start from scratch with some common sense rules next time around.
Doug HNov 16th 2009 11:24AM
You say "now that we have enough invested that it's too late to back out"...well we know this simply isn't true .... high investment, high cost to change- yes, change overnight - no. There are countless examples of products/services with a high hurdle to change...but we do and will.
Patrick #2Nov 16th 2009 11:34AM
@Downloadsquad: The articles that could be defined as troll bait have been increasing lately it seems - articles where the whole truth seems to deliberately not be told. Try to cut back or risk relegating yourselves to the pit where so many other blogs have fallen. Are your traffic numbers going down? Don't resort to this please Perhaps you can take a clue from Engadget, who seems to know more about patents, and who clarified also (in addition to the fact that this wouldn't be built into the paid OS) that patents actually rarely go to production.
Alex MNov 16th 2009 12:12PM
Sebastian Anthony is on a roll with slightly inappropriate or incomplete posts. Just make them sound more like opinion than fact, and it'll be okay.
And to reply to the actual post: go open source.
OzNov 16th 2009 12:38PM
Which is, of course, why I use Linux. So, good luck with that.
RowedaheliconNov 16th 2009 12:47PM
This doesn't surprise me, it isn't enough that apple makes the money they do already, hopefully the new Get a mac ads feature in commercial advertising, nothing says buy a taco like Justin Long trying to prove mac is better. xD
Ken GNov 16th 2009 12:47PM
"Because there's no better alternative to Gmail or iTunes or Windows."
What kind of crack is Sebastian Anthony smoking? Ever heard of Yahoo? Even if you consider Yahoo as being one of the big guys, there are still a lot of free email providers and I have about 8 of those at various places.
Anthony seems to have forgotten about Linux and it's many flavors that can be downloaded and installed on the computer for the price of a blank CD.
I agree with some other commenters that this article is only half the real story and poor journalism, to boot.
BryanNov 16th 2009 1:01PM
Wasn't Microsoft going to release a free version of office that has embedded adds. I wonder if they filed a patent for that.
psycrosNov 16th 2009 1:09PM
Um, I hate to say it..but in this case the author is correct. Yahoo charges for POP3 access, which means their only free option is webmail (complete with ads and all the rest of it). Gmail still works just fine with Outlook, thx very much. Google is the only real search engine, and iTunes is still the best "total package" when it comes to an interactive music catalog.
Jash SayaniNov 16th 2009 1:37PM
Ads in OS ? I don't think so. I pay twice the amount to get a Mac because of quality and when I pay twice, I don't get ads!! Same with the iPod, I choose it over other MP3 players because of quality.
Large organizations like twitter use a Mac. Even the Russian President uses a Mac. I don't think they will see Ads!!
This patent is leading things way too far....
JordanNov 16th 2009 8:24PM
Well gosh golly jee, twitter uses a Mac. One of the most societal dumbing products of all time uses a Mac. All hail the Mac.