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It should be noted that on the mobile Android and iOS devices you do not see ads on the homescreen, nor in system apps (eg settings). You don't even see them i

It should be noted that on the mobile Android and iOS devices you do not see ads on the homescreen, nor in system apps (eg settings). You don't even see them in vendor provided apps like News and Weather on Android and Weather on iOS. The only way to see ads is to deliberately install an app, or use a web browser. Windows 8 is crossing that line by showing you ads through no additional action of your own. The real debate amongst commenters here seems to be whether this is a major line, or just another one in the long list of those already crossed. You can visit many parts of Europe to find less visual clutter. Even here in the US my county bans all billboards except one, so it is quite jarring being elsewhere in the country and seeing how prevalent they are. I must admin being astonished at American's tolerance of advertising. Somehow people are averaging 5 hours of TV watching a day, yet the broadcasts seem to be non-stop advertising briefly interrupted by snippets of programming. Web pages seem to be substantially similar.

CrankyPants 14y ago
Yeah. Please see my other comment. It's not about putting ads on the home screen like we all assumed in the 90s to be the logical conclusion of where we were headed ("one day your car will be free, but it'll be covered with Marlboro inside and out!"), but mobile device usage is increasing and cannibalizing at blinding rates, and the more they can control every aspect of the experience, the better they'll be able to stop the bleeding (which will happen, however good their takeover is), and position themselves for the future. The last thing Google wanted was to watch was Apple and Microsoft slug it out in the mobile OS business, add a dominant share of mobile use to an already dominant share of desktop use, watch mobile become the new desktop (and they touted those stats internally for years before they announced them publicly), and almost certainly wind up the next Yahoo: a company all but a handful of others would be happy to be, but no longer the dominant player, or even a terribly influential one, at that. (And what county is that, if you don't mind my asking? Sounds like paradise, right about now!)
- throwaway64 14y ago
  its not about putting ads on the homescreen? they have done exactly that with xbox already, 50% of the homescreen is composed of ads https://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/5051/microsoft-xbox-e3-2012-_0410.jpg https://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/50... Whats more they try to justify it with sickeningly transparent lies like ads being "Content users are demanding" now.
  - CrankyPants 14y ago
    I was thinking of Android in the sense that they didn't make a phone so they could insert ad slots into the basic UI, but you're totally right. And personally speaking, just last night I signed in to the dashboard, saw the ads, and thought to myself, "So it's come to this: I have to choose between being monetized by ads, or by rootkits. Great."
    - Evbn 14y ago
      JellyBean puts Play ads in the music app, and on the home screen by default, at least on the Nexus 7. Also, one of the Kindles has home screen ads.
- rogerbinns 14y ago
  Santa Cruz Country, California. The one allowed billboard is on highway 17.
  - CrankyPants 14y ago
    Thanks.

CrankyPants 14y ago

Yeah. Please see my other comment. It's not about putting ads on the home screen like we all assumed in the 90s to be the logical conclusion of where we were headed ("one day your car will be free, but it'll be covered with Marlboro inside and out!"), but mobile device usage is increasing and cannibalizing at blinding rates, and the more they can control every aspect of the experience, the better they'll be able to stop the bleeding (which will happen, however good their takeover is), and position themselves for the future. The last thing Google wanted was to watch was Apple and Microsoft slug it out in the mobile OS business, add a dominant share of mobile use to an already dominant share of desktop use, watch mobile become the new desktop (and they touted those stats internally for years before they announced them publicly), and almost certainly wind up the next Yahoo: a company all but a handful of others would be happy to be, but no longer the dominant player, or even a terribly influential one, at that. (And what county is that, if you don't mind my asking? Sounds like paradise, right about now!)

throwaway64 14y ago
its not about putting ads on the homescreen? they have done exactly that with xbox already, 50% of the homescreen is composed of ads https://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/5051/microsoft-xbox-e3-2012-_0410.jpg https://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/50... Whats more they try to justify it with sickeningly transparent lies like ads being "Content users are demanding" now.
- CrankyPants 14y ago
  I was thinking of Android in the sense that they didn't make a phone so they could insert ad slots into the basic UI, but you're totally right. And personally speaking, just last night I signed in to the dashboard, saw the ads, and thought to myself, "So it's come to this: I have to choose between being monetized by ads, or by rootkits. Great."
  - Evbn 14y ago
    JellyBean puts Play ads in the music app, and on the home screen by default, at least on the Nexus 7. Also, one of the Kindles has home screen ads.
rogerbinns 14y ago
Santa Cruz Country, California. The one allowed billboard is on highway 17.
- CrankyPants 14y ago
  Thanks.