TK421
Premium
join:2004-12-19
Canada
| Is Microsoft about to buy Claria/Gator ???
An interesting story from The New York Times: Microsoft Said to Be in Talks to Buy Adware Developer
quote:
For the last two weeks, Microsoft has been in talks to buy a private Silicon Valley company, a move that underscores just how eager Microsoft is to catch up with Google, the search and advertising giant.
The company that Microsoft has pursued is controversial: Claria, an adware marketer formerly called Gator, and best known for its pop-up ads and software that tracks people visiting Web sites. The Gator adware has frequently been denounced by privacy advocates for its intrusiveness.
The offer price on the table as recently as yesterday was $500 million, according to people who have been briefed on the talks. But a person close to Microsoft said last night that the negotiations were on the verge of breaking off.
Every adware/spyware remover worth a grain of salt detects Claria/Gator as something we definitely don't want... does Microsoft really believe it can legitimize this move? Claria has played hard against some privacy advocates - just one example is told on the PC Pitstop website: Gator Information Center. |
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richter35
Premium
join:2004-01-03
Croatia
| This is getting ridiculous. The Three Musketeers are working hard to bundle their precious desktop search applications with anything out there. I do not know who makes me sick more, the software makers or the companies who agree to bundle them.
I just hope this doesn't bounce off their head. I understand that the market has big potential and they're playing cat and mouse with each other, but using this kind of technique to "force" users to use/install their applications is just unacceptable, IMO. |
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Cudni
La Merma - Vigilado
Premium,MVM
join:2003-12-20
Someshire
| reply to TK421
from link
".. The offer price on the table as recently as yesterday was $500 million, according to people who have been briefed on the talks. ..
...
The service would track the surfing patterns of the 40 million people who have Claria software installed on their PC's ..."
Claria is worth 500M $US? It has 40m users?
I can only hope MS doesn't proceed with the deal
Cudni
--
Help yourself so God can help you |
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Logan 5
Silver and Black and blue in 2009
Premium,MVM
join:2001-05-25
The WasteLAN
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
1 edit |  reply to TK421
WTF?!?
I had to check the clock to make sure that we didn't warp ahead 9 months and it was April Fools Day.
Talk about putting your industry credibility out of it's misery.....
Can someone PLEASE explain the correlation between Claria/Gator and Google, and WHY it would make sound business sense for Microsoft to assimilate them?
Has the lack of hair on Ballmer's head FINALLY got to him? |
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fict0n
join:2005-03-28
Rampart, AK | reply to TK421
I knew there had to be something behind the intrinsic tackiness of Longhorn. It looks like a new FastTrack client that embeds into your OS. Only an adware-pusher could design something like that. |
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Tuulilapsi
Kenosis
join:2002-07-29
Finland
| reply to TK421
Gator? I sincerely hope this is not true. Not only is it an incredibly bad marketing move, it would also appear to be pointless. 
--
And lead me not into temptation - for I can find my way there myself easily enough. |
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rippoff_alert
@59.95.x.x | reply to TK421
is M$ listening?? |
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ilago
Premium
join:2005-06-28
Australia
·Internode
| reply to Tuulilapsi
Gator/Claria/GAIN are claiming a 40 million user database. This gives them a montrous database of information that is identifiable to a particular machine, if not the actual user, and access to a great deal of personal information about their users.
Microsoft claim about 85% of the desktop market worldwide and already have their own huge database of user information. How secure is the Microsoft promise of no personally identifiable information being collected during product activation, updating and error reporting?
Will Microsoft Antispyware remove this product or intervene in the installation of this product?
Surely Microsoft would be eroding the tiny gains they have managed to make in the credibility stakes on security issues? |
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dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Tuulilapsi
said by Tuulilapsi  :Gator? I sincerely hope this is not true. Not only is it an incredibly bad marketing move, it would also appear to be pointless. If Microsoft wanted to be heroes, they could use some of their cash reserves to buy up some adware companies, acquire sole rights to the particular technology used, and then ... do nothing with it. Kill it.
That wouldn't be pointless.
It might even save Microsoft some money: easier to kill the enemy than develop defences.
This is of course pure dreaming on my part. |
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B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| reply to TK421
Now on the front page at »Microsoft to Buy Gator/Claria?
Since I don't feel like using »BugMeNot.com at present, all I see is:
Microsoft Said to Be in Talks to Buy Adware Developer
Microsoft has been in talks to buy a private Silicon Valley company, a move that underscores just how eager Microsoft is to catch up with Google. The headline contradicts the lead paragraph -- "has been in talks" is VASTLY different from "said to be in talks". Not that the NYT has been a stalwart example of journalism in the last couple of years.
In any case, I agree this sounds like an April Fool's joke.
While this is completely in keeping with MS's past behavior (they never seemed remotely interested in security or privacy and never had the slightest hesitation in marketing to anyone and everyone) I was really trying to take the whole MSAS thing seriously.
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function |
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SUMware
Premium
join:2002-05-21
| reply to TK421
From the NYT article This year, according to the person briefed on the talks, Claria approached Microsoft about using one of Claria's new services, called BehaviorLink. The service would track the surfing patterns of the 40 million people who have Claria software installed on their PC's, but would use that information to buy ads directly from publishers. Publishers would be paid for showing the ads; Claria would be paid by marketers who want to reach consumers; and users would see fewer pop-ups.
Mr. Ballmer, according to the person briefed on the talks, had been pushing Yusuf Mehdi, the senior vice president in charge of MSN and Microsoft's search business, to be more aggressive in closing the gap with Google, including making acquisitions. And Mr. Ballmer, this person said, gave approval to begin negotiations with Claria two weeks ago.
Analysts said Microsoft would probably be most interested in the long-term potential of Claria's personalization software rather than its pop-up ads. Responding to customer complaints, Microsoft stopped selling pop-up ads on its MSN Web sites in May 2003. |
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antiserious
The Future ain't what it used to be
Premium
join:2001-12-12
Scranton, PA
| reply to TK421
... more from the article: ...
One person briefed on the deal said there was opposition within Microsoft to the acquisition.
The anti-deal group, the person said, fears the move could bring an outcry as critics portray Microsoft as a corporate Big Brother, trying to track every mouse click on the Web and profit from it.
Those in favor of the deal, this person said, believe Microsoft could help clean up the adware field, establish rules to protect privacy and benefit from the anticipated increase in personalized advertising.
Both Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, and Bill Gates, the chairman, have been involved in that debate inside the company, according to that person.
Neither Microsoft nor Claria would comment on the negotiations.
Claria, based in Redwood City, Calif., is moving beyond pop-ups to personalized services, like delivering local weather information and distributing software that lets Web publishers offer personalized pages.
Software tailored to individual preferences and browsing habits opens the door to personalized advertising. That emerging ad market is of great interest to Microsoft for its MSN Web sites, as it is for Google, which recently began testing services like individually customized Google home pages and software that stores the Web pages a user visits most often, for faster display.
... and somewhere, the spin doctors are gearin' up ...
--
... "Nobody's perfect - well, there was this one guy, but we killed Him" ... Christopher Moore, 'Lamb' ... |
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B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| said by antiserious :Claria, based in Redwood City, Calif., is moving beyond pop-ups to personalized services, like delivering local weather information and distributing software that lets Web publishers offer personalized pages. Software tailored to individual preferences and browsing habits opens the door to personalized advertising. Am I just not a big enough thinker to understand Ballmer and Gates, or isn't it reasonable to deem as evil all "Software tailored to individual preferences and browsing habits [that specifically] opens the door to personalized advertising."
Is there any way in which this CAN'T be perceived as a net blow to consumers (all Googlish innovation notwithstanding). Which reminds me, I see Google innovating like mad, even via its acquisitions (earth.google.com), but MS has been chanting "innovation" for years since the monopoly charges hit, and I just don't see it.
-- B
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In a realm outside causality and function |
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hpguru
Curb Your Dogma
Premium
join:2002-04-12
| reply to TK421
I wouldn't be so quick to bash Microsoft over this. The takeover if such plans exist has yet to materialize. Furthermore as Dave points out MS may have something entirely different in mind. I have suggested in the past that one way to fight spyware would be to patent it. Perhaps that is just what MS is planning.
--
Get hpHOSTS! Member ASAP
Downing St. memo: BUSH LIED, YOUR SON DIED.
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B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
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That would be lovely, of course, hpguru , but think about it. If that were MS's intention, WHY would they have to hide it in any way?
The company(ies) being purchased wouldn't care -- they're only concerned in how much cash the sale is worth to them.
I doubt the government would care.
Consumers would certainly appreciate it.
So if the REAL intent were "purchase Spyware in order to destroy it" then why wouldn't they come out and say so?
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function |
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Martinus
Premium
join:2001-08-06
EU
| said by B :So if the REAL intent were "purchase Spyware in order to destroy it" then why wouldn't they come out and say so? Because that theory doesn't make sense. It's like buying some acres of a burning forest in order to put down the fires.
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From the GSV "Ethics Gradient" |
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antiserious
The Future ain't what it used to be
Premium
join:2001-12-12
Scranton, PA
| reply to hpguru
said by hpguru :I wouldn't be so quick to bash Microsoft over this.
... while I agree it's too early to get hysterical, MS doesn't exactly have a track record of putting user security at the top of the list ... underneath it all, however, is something I've railed about many times before - in relation to junk mail, spam, and most forms of unsolicited advertising ... I believe the default setting for all these things should be "I'm OUT until I opt-in" ... obviously that's reverse-reality, but just think of how many trees it would save if it ONLY eliminated all the mattress ads I see in my mailbox (the actual black rectangle nailed to the building, that is) ... and while electronic ads are more eco-friendly in some ways, they're no less annoying (but mercifully short-lived) ...
... I see this as more geared to targeted advertising than spyware - there's WAY more money in ads ...
... f w i w ...
--
... "Nobody's perfect - well, there was this one guy, but we killed Him" ... Christopher Moore, 'Lamb' ... |
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B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| Ah, but without "spyware" there IS no "targeted advertising" for anyone who uses NIS, or ZoneAlarm Pro, or AdBlock, or...
The pre-installed spyware components from "Gator, the Spyware Company(TM)" are crucial to the whole deal.
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function |
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antiserious
The Future ain't what it used to be
Premium
join:2001-12-12
Scranton, PA
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... I suspect you're right - which effectively neuters MSAS in this area, since they won't rat themselves out ... I wonder just how closely CounterSpy follows the MSAS definitions, and what's in their 'sharing' agreement with MS regarding specific products ...
... the plot thickens ... or sickens, depending on you POV ...
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... "Nobody's perfect - well, there was this one guy, but we killed Him" ... Christopher Moore, 'Lamb' ... |
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TheJoker
Premium,VIP,MVM
join:2001-04-26
Alexandria, VA
| reply to dave
said by dave :If Microsoft wanted to be heroes, they could use some of their cash reserves to buy up some adware companies, acquire sole rights to the particular technology used, and then ... do nothing with it. Kill it. The only thing that would do is encourage other malware companies to want to become the next acquisition buyout.
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Proud ASAP member since 2005 |
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