Apple Patents Forced Advertising

As a website owner, I’m well-aware of just how important advertising is to both the livelihood of staff members, and to the health of the site itself. There are some types of ads I don’t quite agree with, which is why you don’t see them here on our site. There’s one kind of ad in particular that bugs me… “pop-unders”, which preface an entire website or article with a full-page ad (usually featuring a “skip this ad” button).

But, even with that kind of advertising, I can understand the need, and despite it being an inconvenience, if the site’s worth it, then no problem. Plus, the fact that they can be skipped makes the issue a little bit easier to deal with. But what if you couldn’t skip them? Or any other type of advertisement for that matter? According to a patent filed by Apple last year, it looks like it could become a reality, although we’re not sure how soon.

The patent seems to target mobile computers, or where Apple’s concerned, probably handhelds, like the iPhone or iPod touch. The idea is this. An ad is displayed on your screen, and you have to prove to the device that you saw it before you can continue. There isn’t a simple “Skip this Ad” button, or if there is, it will be located on different parts of the screen with each ad, so you can’t simply guess where it will be.

There’s also the possibility that the ad will ask you a skill-testing question, with the answer being related to the ad. In this case, you actually would have to watch the entire ad if you wanted to gain control back over your device. It sounds insane, but the way things are going, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if this became a reality soon, but depending on how it’s utilized, I might not be entirely against it.

If these ads mean that the device is free, then some people (not me) might prefer to take that route. After all, it’s easier to stomach the cost of a device via your time rather than your hard-earned cash. Plus, although I don’t think this will happen, at least soon, there’s also the possibility that this ad-type could be expanded to other areas of computing as well, such as desktop operating systems. What do you guys think about this? Would you deal with these types of ads to get a free, or cheaper device?

…forget about having a third-party developer providing you with an AppleScript to bypass this. Unless the advertisement “counts,” you’ll be locked out of using the device until you can prove you’ve paid attention. Apple even provides a sample menu bar, which will be haunting my dreams thanks to its Lucida Grande font and obvious Mac integration. This menu allows for the user to “preload” the timer of how long they can use their device without interruption — by watching multiple advertisements in advance.