And another thing! I mean, do consumers really need advertising confronting them at every turn and on every bit of free space? No, of course not. Consumers generally know what the want and need and where to get it, meaning that the majority of advertising is overkill and parasitic. Yes, parasitic! Why? Because advertisers live off the hard work and efforts of the manufacturers and retailers, etc... and because advertising breeds like a parasitic fungus and spreads to any unoccupied space it can find.
In reality, most advertising is ignored and/or disposed of without the intended target even seeing it. Example, advertising via letterbox drops. I just remove it from my letterbox and put it straight in the garbage unread, and so do most other people I know. Another example is newspapers and magazines. I stopped buying newspapers and magazines 20 - 30 years ago when the advertising content was overtaking the news for page space, and there are plenty of others who have done the same.
However, these examples do not address the real issue here. Another example of advertising finding its parasitic way into peoples lives is pay TV [cable/satellite TV] I have to wonder how many other people connected to pay TV to escape the constant interruptions to their favourite shows. I know that I did, and I was happy for a while... until my pay TV provider [Foxtel] began showing ads before, after and several times during shows. I only keep it on because much of what I wish to see isn't aired on free-to-air commercial television.
Okay, so what does this have to do with advertising within Windows 10, you might ask. Well everything, actually. To escape advertising in many areas of the internet and software, you have to pay, and Windows 10 is no longer free. Maybe those who got it free don't have a case to argue, but the people who are just getting Win 10 now are being treated the same way... with fechen ads in the Start Menu, and soon to be, in Explorer and on the Desktop. It's the same as paying to not having commercials on TV., then finding them between and during every show.
I signed up with Foxtel because initially it boasted no commercials during programs, and that anything in between would be self-promotional about upcoming features and etc. It didn't last and I feel betrayed. Now I'm not under any circumstances going to pay for Windows 10 to have advertising thrust upon me after beeing ad free since I began using Windows around 2003 -4. It doesn't help me, and in fact I'd find 99.9% of it intrusive and offensive, so it's not something I want to find in a product I've purchased.
I know some will say 'Ah, but you're only paying for the license to use the software', and that may be true, but I also pay my local council for a dog license. The is dog is always mine but the license tag remains property of the council. However, it doesn't come with ads for dog food, dog toys, walking aids or veterinary services, etc, and that's how I want my Operating System... AD FREE.
Advertising in File Explorer? Well now that's a bit much, Microsoft.
It's not a bit much, Dave, it's a downright atrocity, Dave. Thing is, advertising is not the only thing being hard coded into Explorer... and other system functions. Telemetry and other intrusive things will also find their way into users lives to gather information, to promote 'desired' trends and products of MS partners AND others... to manage and control how users interact with their PC as more and more user options and controls disappear over time.
What we are seeing here is an OS that Microsoft claims is the best ever [for who?], and an os that can do more and take you further, but in reality, Windows 10 does less for users than it does for its creator. I mean, just look at all the features of past Windows editions that are no longer there... features that enhanced users time on their PC. True, there's few new things, and some of them are useful, but how many of these new technolgies actually perform under the hood functions that benefit Microsoft far more than you? Simply put, MS scanning you calendar and or diary is self-serving and not going to benefit you.
I also know there will be a number of people who will say this all stuff of conspiracy theories and that I need a tinfoil had, but everything I've said here has been investigated/discovered by far more learned people than I and can be verified through numerous sources... and if the minus tinfoil hat brigade were even interested to take a look, the evidence is there
Our lives are already filled with machines for this and that, and some would argue we are too reliant/dependent on machines, which I believe is true. However, the machines of today aren't thinking sentient entities... well not yet at least. The thing is Windows 10 is the cornerstone of that new era, and Windows 10 will power it, provide its thinking and the information required to get its job completed. Oh, that's right, nobody at MS is actually talking openly about AI and to make it mobile/almost self-sufficient.
Anybody see where this is going? And no, this isn't the stuff of conspiracy therories or science fiction. No, this has been the natural progression of things since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution... only now, technology is moving ahead at a more frantic pace and there will be developments that should never, ever happen. One of those things is the mobilisation of AI. Terminators anyone? And no, they are NOT just the figment of some science fiction writer. Terminators [or a version thereof] will be a reality that'll upon us before we know it... and they won't be here to serve us have-nots.
Fortunately, most of us here won't be around to see the worst if it... the end of the world and humanity as we know it.
Anyhow, I have a tinfoil nightcap and I'm going to bed before it turns 5.00AM
