Apple Patents Putting Ads Into the OS
Buckle up, 'technology fans'! While Microsoft launches Windows 7 today, Apple may be quietly working on an ad-supported Mac OS X.
The concept of advertising-supported services are nothing new. Magazines that you buy and television shows that you watch are largely subsidized by advertising. Even the web publication that you're reading now is supported largely through advertising (thanks our wonderful sales team who leaves editorial completely independent).
But what about ad-supported software? That's also nothing new, as some of the free software we use today on our computers feature ads in some form. Apple could be exploring uncharted territory with an ad-supported operating system.
In a patent originally submitted last year, Apple details a system where ads are presented to the user of the operating system. Unlike ad-supported applications, the ads are pervasive throughout the OS. The end result could end up being the ultimate nag ware, but the tradeoff is an OS that's at a reduced cost or completely free.
The abstract reads:
Among other disclosures, an operating system presents one or more advertisements to a user and disables one or more functions while the advertisement is being presented. At the end of the advertisement, the operating system again enables the function(s). The advertisement can be visual or audible. The presentation of the advertisement(s) can be made as part of an approach where the user obtains a good or service, such as the operating system, for free or at reduced cost.
Macnn has some diagrams that show that it may be possible for users to control when the ads display, along with the option to delay them. Crafty hackers would probably find a way to disable ads altogether, but such an ad-supported system could lead to more affordable public internet terminals and kiosks.
- apple ,
- patents ,
- advertising ,
- mac ,
- osx
- Watch the Live Steam Windows 7 Launch Event
- Ends Soon: Get Assassin's Creed for $5 on Steam
- Acer's First 3D Laptop Now Shipping
- Burger King Selling Windows 7 Whopper in Japan
- Tons Of New Win7 Launch Hardware--Roundup
- Canesta Developing 'Project Natal Killer'For PC
- Businesses Find That Win 7 Saves Time, Money
- HP Makes Affordable 21.5" Touchscreen Win 7 LCD
- Rambus Making Mobile Memory More Efficient
- Microsoft Releases Install Notes Win 7 XP Mode
- Microsoft Starts Selling PCs Online
- A-DATA Using ''DNA Authentication'' to ID RAM
- New I'm a PC Ad: Windows 7 Was Your Idea
- New Mac Ad Attacks Entire Windows Lineage
- Linus Torvalds Gives Windows 7 a Thumbs Up
- VIDEO: Sexy, Slim Adamo XPS Early Hands-on
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Minimum Specs
- Psystar Software Will Make Your PC Run OS X
Lmao, Apple's Macs are expensive, they earn most money from it but they need more money from ads? I hate these money hogs companies these days...
yeah just like kicking butts in the toilet
capitalism rulez!
control when the ads display - my vote goes on the shut-down screen or at the very least on the screensaver.
no no and once more no!!!
As for the screensaver idea people would just have the monitor go into standby instead and not see it. If when they then showed the add when it comes out of standby that would just annoy people more.
OSX doesn't even cost that much to begin with.
If a PC gets adware installed it's called a virus, if Apple does it it's worth a patent.
This sounds like the most annoying thing ever, especially since it stops what you're doing (if that's what they mean by certain functions). I think I would get furious if I was getting bugged by adds while working at my comp.
What next? Adds in the middle of our DVDs?
The Patent Office grants the most stupid of patents. Some of them are so general that everyone in the world would be in breach of them, and others are such common place practices that they shouldn't be able to be patented. I wonder if I can patent "User opening mouth and inhaling gas-like substance for the purposes of extracting Oxygen"?