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Apple's Gone Rotten With Patent for Ad-Supported Macs?

by Warren Riddle on November 17, 2009 at 10:15 AM

Advertisements have been a constant nuisance since the Web's inception, but their continued proliferation has recently become nearly unbearable. Even on some pay sites where every amount of available space is devoted to ad banners, members have to sit through a 30-second spot every time they want to watch a three-minute video.

Apple, though, reportedly believes that all those pop-ups, videos, and obscuring banners just aren't sufficiently irritating. According to the New York Times, the company is developing a terrifying and absolutely disgusting patent that would basically give Apple the right to shill anything on any of its devices at absolutely any time.

Hidden behind the unassuming name of 'Advertisement in Operating System,' the sinister plan would enable Apple to run unstoppable and unavoidable ads on the operating system itself. The ads could even lock a gadget or computer until the spot is completed, or in some infuriating cases, lock the device until the user interacts with the bogus interruptions.

Apple claims that the so-called "enforcement routine" would only be enabled for people who actually agree to being constantly bothered. But, the program is still considerably troubling, particularly coming from a company that takes pride in its trendy, hipster image. If Apple does carry out this despicable plan, it should probably change those already annoying TV ads: "I'm a Mac hypocrite." [From: The New York Times and Download Squad]

Tags: advertising, Apple, operating system, OperatingSystem, osx, top

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