3 ms·

This article just seems like rage bait to me, tricking the anti-Microsoft crowd into giving Ars clicks. So many things get killed before they're launched, and

This article just seems like rage bait to me, tricking the anti-Microsoft crowd into giving Ars clicks. So many things get killed before they're launched, and I'm so sure this would test absolutely abysmally if it were introduced into any paid for version of their OS, it's almost silly to think they'd just slip this into Windows 11 Home or whatever. Maybe it's part of a potential new "free OS" offering, where you get Windows 11 for free, but with ads. I don't think that's terrible. I think it's at least seeing if it would work, writing up some code to get a feel for how it looks, both technically and from a marketing perspective. Just seems like a great way to get a specific crowd riled up about something that will never see the light of day in any meaningful sense that would affect that crowd.

blibble 5y ago
I mean... there's already ads in explorer https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FLOmqhIFXDipU2ImONNF-m6d_GQ8%3D%2F0x0%3A900x600%2F1200x800%2Ffilters%3Afocal(378x228%3A522x372)%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_image%2Fimage%2F53622319%2F1.0.jpg&f=1&nofb=1 https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F... and: - ads on the lockscreen - ads as notifications - ads in the start menu - ads in the "change file association" dialog - ads in the apps (e.g. solitaire) heaven forbid we critisise Microsoft for these things
- deleted 5y ago
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- TameAntelope 5y ago
  Heaven forbid we wait to see if Microsoft actually does this before criticizing them...
  - EasyTiger_ 5y ago
    Let's keep quiet then and just allow them to add more ads with no pushback.
- Tenoke 5y ago
  I've literally never seen or at least noticed these so I'm guessing you can disable them easily which I've likely done when I first installed it.
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sonicanatidae 5y ago
I think it's both. I think the article is meant to generate clicks, but at the same time, but this is Micro$oft. Of course they are going to roll out ads in the future. It starts small. Want Windows free? Watch ads, then when enough people get used to it, it gets rolled out in the rest. The exception would likely be Enterprise versions, because companies would lose their minds over this, but for all the "plebes"? Enjoy your ads.
thombles 5y ago
They already slip promoted links into the “quick links” in Edge - the UI that any normal user would think was just their frequently-visited sites on the New Tab page - unless you turn it off under advanced customisations. It makes no difference being on W11 Pro and signed in to the browser with an M365 account. That’s in production today, so I would consider ideas like this one more than a doomed brainfart.
jlarocco 5y ago
> Maybe it's part of a potential new "free OS" offering, where you get Windows 11 for free, but with ads. Who are you kidding? The paid versions of Windows 10 already have built-in ads. The installer even asks about "personalized" ad preferences. The ship's already sailed - Windows is ad-ware. The only question now is how blatant they want to be, and it looks like they're figuring that out now.

blibble 5y ago

I mean... there's already ads in explorer https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FLOmqhIFXDipU2ImONNF-m6d_GQ8%3D%2F0x0%3A900x600%2F1200x800%2Ffilters%3Afocal(378x228%3A522x372)%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_image%2Fimage%2F53622319%2F1.0.jpg&f=1&nofb=1 https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F... and: - ads on the lockscreen - ads as notifications - ads in the start menu - ads in the "change file association" dialog - ads in the apps (e.g. solitaire) heaven forbid we critisise Microsoft for these things

deleted 5y ago
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TameAntelope 5y ago
Heaven forbid we wait to see if Microsoft actually does this before criticizing them...
- EasyTiger_ 5y ago
  Let's keep quiet then and just allow them to add more ads with no pushback.
Tenoke 5y ago
I've literally never seen or at least noticed these so I'm guessing you can disable them easily which I've likely done when I first installed it.

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sonicanatidae 5y ago

I think it's both. I think the article is meant to generate clicks, but at the same time, but this is Micro$oft. Of course they are going to roll out ads in the future. It starts small. Want Windows free? Watch ads, then when enough people get used to it, it gets rolled out in the rest. The exception would likely be Enterprise versions, because companies would lose their minds over this, but for all the "plebes"? Enjoy your ads.

thombles 5y ago

They already slip promoted links into the “quick links” in Edge - the UI that any normal user would think was just their frequently-visited sites on the New Tab page - unless you turn it off under advanced customisations. It makes no difference being on W11 Pro and signed in to the browser with an M365 account. That’s in production today, so I would consider ideas like this one more than a doomed brainfart.

jlarocco 5y ago

> Maybe it's part of a potential new "free OS" offering, where you get Windows 11 for free, but with ads. Who are you kidding? The paid versions of Windows 10 already have built-in ads. The installer even asks about "personalized" ad preferences. The ship's already sailed - Windows is ad-ware. The only question now is how blatant they want to be, and it looks like they're figuring that out now.