Microsoft said to be mulling purchase of Claria

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Microsoft and Gator are two of a kind

This story upsets me more than you realize. yes, Claria (Gator) is Microsoft's kind of company. That's the kind of company Microsoft understands. Evil with evil.

And most of these analysts act like it's a simple business transaction. Have these people ever tried to get Gator pop up ads OFF a computer? I have so many friends who don't understand why their computer is locked up and useless and where all the ads are coming from -- it's coming from their own computer because companies like Claria (old name Gator) tricked them into downloading something or downloaded something without their permisson. Yes, that's just Microsoft's kind of company.

In fact, Gator has such a bad reputation, they changed their name to Claria. Just as Philip Morris (who makes cigarettes) changed their name to WeReallyDon'tKillPeopleOnPurpose to soften their image. OK, they really changed their name to Altria. But my version is the English translation.

"For this to work, it has to be on hundreds of millions of desktops so there's an improved consumer experience in advertising, search and content," Claria spokesperson Eagle said.

Oh, like maybe pre-installed in the next version of Windows (Longhorn)? I just can't see people standing for that.

Remember when Microsoft tried to take over all websites with their "smart tags" -- not only in Office but also in IE? (They were forced to strip it from IE, but left it in Office. I still have to turn it off on every computer I install Office.) but, they arrogantly thought that just because you were using THEIR browser to view websites that gave them permission to change all the content of those sites in your browser so all keywords they chose would show links to Microsoft owned or affiliated sites. so, if you were on a Honda car site, words in the text like "automobile performance" might have a Microsoft link generated (through IE) that would actually take you to a GM site, if GM paid Microsoft enough money.

And Microsoft genuinely didn't understand what was wrong with that. First, it was deceptive to the users. They wouldn't know that Honda wasn't sending them to a GM site. They might be confused about it, but there's the link, you know? (or it might be sending them to a car accessories site, but still it's not what HONDA was doing, it was Microsoft). Second, it was bastardizing the original website. Honda paid money to have it designed the way they wanted it designed, and here Microsoft's software was rendering it the way Microsoft wanted -- redesigning it, in effect (adding links or "smart tags" to key words to generate more money for Microsoft). They still do the same with Office. In Outlook, you will sometimes see little purple lines under some words. Those are smart tags. Links that Microsoft has generated to take you to Microsoft owned or affiliated companies. They had to strip the smart tags out of IE "for now" (but that's been 3 years ago) but they left it in Office. they defended themselves by saying they were only trying to enhance the user experience, blah, blah, blah... See, same rationale as Gator.

With Claria/Gator and similar outfits you download some silly little thing on your computer like smiley icons or a movie screen saver and suddenly that gives Gator permission to inundate you with pop-up ads every time you try to check your webmail or go to almost any site. Or if you try to go to Google to search for something, somehow you are whisked away to another search site. And the Gator software uses your internet connection to send information back to Gator telling them what you are doing on the internet and then uses your bandwidth to download MORE ads to throw in your face. Yes, this is a perfect match for Microsoft. They want to control you and control your computer to generate more money, and they defend it by saying they are trying to "enhance the consumer experience".

Posted by: ChazzMatt   Posted on: 06/30/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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