New York Times ponders an ad-supported Mac OS

Seth Weintraub
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November 15, 2009
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We told you about Apple patenting an ad supported version of Mac OSX last month.  Today, the New York Times is examining the possibility in a piece called Apple Wouldn’t Risk Its Cool Over a Gimmick, Would It?

Admittedly, it does seem like a far stretch to think Steve Jobs (who is incidentally named first on the patent) likes this idea and its potential weakening of the Apple brand.  But, the guy is a smart man and Google is about to release a free OS that will be subsidized on advertising.  Microsoft is also experimenting with advertising in its office products (mostly for upsell). Perhaps the model could catch on with students, one of Apple's biggest customers, who would take the ads for free computers?  Again, very unlikely.

Perhaps Apple thinks it needs a contingency plan.

 


Comments (12)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 15, 2009 - 9:34pm

I think that I hate ads but I mean, almost 100% of the pages I visit are full of ads, there are ads in google (as mentioned in the article) that I hardly notice so I wonder if I just hate the idea of something being ad-supported as opposed to it actually being ad-supported.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 15, 2009 - 10:00pm

I think the point of this is to patent it before someone else does it so Apple can charge royalties.

Carl (not verified) | November 15, 2009 - 11:38pm

It's already been done. Apple doesn't invent everything. Apple "steals" or "borrows" or "claims" things that already existed sometimes.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 15, 2009 - 10:03pm

I can't imagine that the ad version of Mac OS X would be on Apple hardware, but it could be a model for non-Apple hardware e.g. select Mac OS as an option on your Dell machine? Could Apple be contemplating allowing Mac OS on non Apple hardware?

the 'noob

OS X Copycat (not verified) | November 15, 2009 - 11:36pm

Since others are exploring ad based OSes, Apple is just covering their rear ends by getting an early claim on designs.  A sort of "just in case" strategy.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 16, 2009 - 1:02am

Think different you idiots! Who would launch a lame ad supported OS? Microsoft, that's who and because of lame customers it would be succesful too. So what could Apple do to prevent this from happening? I do not know, say, patent the shit before Microsoft could?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 16, 2009 - 1:51am

If the ads were restricted to Mac stuff and made the OS free then it would be ok.

Maybe Apple would let me choose. $300 cheaper for a Mac with ads.

Could be tempting.

Michael Braun (not verified) | November 16, 2009 - 5:09am

What seems likely is that this technology is destined for the rumored tablet or $30 all you can watch iTunes TV plan.  In those cases, Apple wants to provide content, but may not be able to convince content providers that it's worth their while.  But with ads that guarantee user viewing, it would be easier to convince content providers to support the new tech.  So, you can get the Times on your tablet for free+ads or you can pay for it.  Sounds like win-win-win (Apple, content providers, and consumers) to me.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 16, 2009 - 6:08am

For an ad-supported system to work, the ads must be relevant to the user's interest; otherwise they'd be wasted space and annoying.  To make them relevant to the user, the OS would have to monitor the user's activities and make some kind of report back to the mothership about what the user does so that the ad-server would know what to serve up.

<br>

I can't imagine why anyone would be willing to allow the operating system itself to essentially become spy-ware itself just to save the one time cost of an OS.  Is your privacy not worth $100-$200?  Maybe it's not; I can't believe how many people, myself included, use Google Mail, which reads every email you send or receive to come up with more targeted ads to serve you.

Gazoobee (not verified) | November 16, 2009 - 7:52am

There isn't an advertisement that can't be nuked either.  I hate ads, and I don't tolerate them.  I use software, intelligence and a tiny bit of diligence to make sure I never see them.  If Apple or anyone released an ad-supported OS, it would be childs-play to hack into it and get rid of the ads.  This is one of the reasons you don't see ad supported OS's even though Microsoft thought of this ten years ago.  

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 16, 2009 - 9:24am

i'll buy macbook's $300 dollars cheaper with ad's wholesale amount. I'll then reinstall the OS for 29 dollars, and sell them back. FTW

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 24, 2009 - 11:07pm

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