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Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

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Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#101

Post by awalGarg »

aresant wrote: post #44

It's so funny to watch MSFT completely miss the lessons that have turned Google into the World's Most Valuable Advertising Business. HEY YOU GUYS LETS PLASTER ADVERTISING ALL OVER ALL OF THE THINGS! Look at Gmail: http://imgur.com/M8RF1TV Look at Yahoo Mail: http://imgur.com/Cjwxspc Look at AOL Mail: http://imgur.com/ZeaIe1L Which email product do you use? Which would you rather use? The advertising business that is…

Just FTR, GMail puts quite a few ads in the inbox though. And until a few years ago, GMail also had fancy images and (internal only) ads on their login page as well. I didn't particularly care about those, though, because I usually never see the login page. But I do agree that GMail's advertisement is a lot more lightweight than other email services I have used (rediffmail? inline ads anyone?)

Although presently I just use GMail's https://inbox.google.com which hasn't shown me an advertisement yet.

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#102

Post by BinaryIdiot »

dangrossman wrote: post #84

Microsoft added the Spotlight feature last year, and this is pretty much exactly what it was billed as: if you don't have a lock screen image of your own, you get random wallpaper images from Bing, and also occasional app offers and tips. You can upvote/downvote the offers to personalize the suggestions in the future. It's an app discovery mechanism, and you can turn it off by picking your own lock screen image. I do…

I'm fine with jumping aboard the hate train for things like the Office ads but this seems like a pretty non-issue and I agree with you. Just like the Google Play widget or notifications for the App Store on iOS; Windows is doing the same-thing but with a lock screen background.

I'm not sure if this is a default (I thought it wasn't; it certainly wasn't when I bought a Surface a couple of weeks ago). If this is a default then I think that should be changed but beyond that? Not a big deal. Let's focus on other Windows 10 issues that should be addressed versus this.

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#103

Post by exodust »

pearle wrote: post #68

I think I'm finally going back to Windows 7. I'd rather pay full price for a OS release than become a product. Of course, another issue is that the Windows Store is completely broken on my computer and quite a few apps no longer work (including Windows Calculator, Photos, etc.).

Or just turn off the spotlight thing in settings.

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#104

Post by sp332 »

forgetsusername wrote: post #72
sp332 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The PC market is shrinking quickly, so maybe they have.

> The PC market is shrinking quickly There were 275 million PC units sold in 2015, and approximately the same number is expected for 2016. Sales were growing until 2011, when they peaked at around 360 million units. So certainly sales have shrunk, but I wouldn't describe them as "shrinking quickly", according to forecasts.

Shipments were down in 2015 even if you include Apple computers, which outperformed the rest. https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS40909316 Things look even worse when you take them out. Which forecasts are you using?

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#105

Post by the_af »

gravypod wrote: post #18
Zikes wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't necessarily hold true for FOSS, though.

FOSS isn't free. You are being "paid for" by other people donating their time to make many, many people happy. That's at least my way of looking at it.

But the user is not the product in the case of FOSS. No-one is taking advantage of you as is the case when you, the user, are marketed to advertisers.

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#106

Post by imgabe »

I've been using Windows 10 for a while now at work and I haven't seen any ads yet. I was really enjoying the different pictures on the lock screen and the way you can like/dislike them to get more of the types of pictures you like. If they start running ads on it and I have to disable it that's going to be pretty sad. I mean, not really in the grand scheme of things, but it was a pleasant, enjoyable feature that made me like Windows. Why ruin it with ads?

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#107

Post by exodust »

jfoster wrote: post #70

Seems like the "new Microsoft" honeymoon period has been brought to an abrupt end. Did every single Windows 7 user get this? Perhaps they can recover from this by learning quickly from the backlash that's about to happen.

Backlash from needing to go into settings and flick a toggle switch from on to off? Oh the horror!

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#108

Post by trjordan »

fnbr wrote: post #64
aresant wrote: post #44

It's so funny to watch MSFT completely miss the lessons that have turned Google into the World's Most Valuable Advertising Business. HEY YOU GUYS LETS PLASTER ADVERTISING ALL OVER ALL OF THE THINGS! Look at Gmail: http://imgur.com/M8RF1TV Look at Yahoo Mail: http://imgur.com/Cjwxspc Look at AOL Mail: http://imgur.com/ZeaIe1L Which email product do you use? Which would you rather use? The advertising business that is…

This is the exact reason why Google is so valuable- when I use Google, I'm actively searching for something, so I'm happy to see relevant ads in my search results. If I search "bike shop London," I want to find a bike shop in London, so if I see an ad for a bike shop in London, I'm ecstatic, and I'll probably go there. When I go to check my inbox, on the other hand, that's because I want to see what email I've receiv…

I think Google is massively overpaid for what it does at this point.

In your scenario, you've decided you want to 1) buy a bike 2) from a brick and mortar store 3) by going there and talking to them. Your mind is made up. Why does your local bike shop have to pay Google to show up in those results? What if a bike shop uses its budget to advertise on Google instead of training its employees, you'll go to the one that's advertising instead of the good one, because Google is playing middleman on intent. I don't like there being economic incentive to mess with my research when I've already decided what I want.

On the other hand, I like AdSense. If I'm reading an article about commuting problems in the Bay Area or on how to buy a car for cheap, ads for bike shops might be helpful. It turns out that SF is a good place to ditch the car and commute on your bike because the weather is so good. That's new information in the moment I'm making the decision, not re-ranking existing information when I'm trying to find something more commoditized.

The problem is the Google has built a legitimate monopoly on search, and they're extracting the value they can from it. Sure, it's based on being a better search engine than everybody else, but it still frustrates me that they're taking their monopolists cut.

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#109

Post by sp332 »

TheLogothete wrote: post #86
sp332 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The PC market is shrinking quickly, so maybe they have.

How is the PC market shrinking? Do you mean that new shipments are declining? Because this is not the same thing AT ALL.

Total "PC" units are shrinking, and Windows PC sales are shrinking compared to Mac computer sales, and phones are exploding compared to PCs. What comparison could you make where Windows PC sales are "up"?

Re: Windows Now Showing Full-Screen Ads

#110

Post by wcummings »

fnbr wrote: post #64
aresant wrote: post #44

It's so funny to watch MSFT completely miss the lessons that have turned Google into the World's Most Valuable Advertising Business. HEY YOU GUYS LETS PLASTER ADVERTISING ALL OVER ALL OF THE THINGS! Look at Gmail: http://imgur.com/M8RF1TV Look at Yahoo Mail: http://imgur.com/Cjwxspc Look at AOL Mail: http://imgur.com/ZeaIe1L Which email product do you use? Which would you rather use? The advertising business that is…

This is the exact reason why Google is so valuable- when I use Google, I'm actively searching for something, so I'm happy to see relevant ads in my search results. If I search "bike shop London," I want to find a bike shop in London, so if I see an ad for a bike shop in London, I'm ecstatic, and I'll probably go there. When I go to check my inbox, on the other hand, that's because I want to see what email I've receiv…

This is why Amazon is Google's biggest competitor in search.
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