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Steve Jobs' Idea for Ad-Supported Operating Systems Was Nearly a Reality

Westyfield2 said:
The last thing I want is the riff raff owning Macs ;).
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Too late. :eek:

Anyways, I don't think this would have been such a horrible idea, provided that (1) schools, universities and nonprofits would get reasonable access to the ad-free OS; (2) one could pay the normal upgrade price to have the OS become ad-free; and (3) the ads in the free versions were just ads and not consumer tracking systems (e.g., Google).
 
Oh, great. I imagine myself trying to move some markers in AE on a tiny 13" screen of my new 2014 MBP (because the 17" MBP has just been discontinued) but just before I could klick on my mouse, an ad of McDonalds pops up. I am lovin' it :rolleyes:
 
I used to get free internet access in the early 2000's by having force locked to the top of my screen (back on OS9). It was annoying (especially on a laptop screen) but worth it for the free access. It could have seen this working....as long as we had the option of the a paid version or an ad-supported version. And with the option to pay (like shareware) at a later point in the ad version, to remove the ads.
 
RMo said:
And so you could have done just that (paid $99), as the article states, and enjoy your desired experience. What's the problem?
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There isn't a problem. None that I can see at least.

In the spirit of 100% transparency I did gloss over this part (my bad):
"And any time an owner of the free version wanted to get rid of the advertising, he or she could simply pay for the ad-free version."
 
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Already has been done and still is.

The funny thing is most computer buyers already get this and have so for well over a decade. Just about every OEM PC comes loaded with bloat ware that are just straight ads, trials and basic programs that need upgrades to become useful.

There has been no outcry and they usually sit there until someone that knows what they are doing removes them. Every printer comes with adware for ink. Some external hard drives come with trial backup software and so forth. Even some paid software comes with adware such as the Ask toolbar.

Edit: Heck, as I recall there is a now defunct manufacturer that tried doing this in the late 90's or early 00's. By integrating ads into Windows and selling junk computers in the $200 to $300 range.
 
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Interesting that SJ thought of this way back then. i think some elements of this theory has come true.

Apps that are free usually have Ads to generate the revenue for teh developer whilst attracting people to download for free which we know people are doing in their millions.

weather it will work with the entire OS ummmm i hope not
 
sounds like an actual ios app strategy, free apps with ads, or in-app purchase of ad-free.
 
In those days such things were new and some companies were experimenting with it! Like the Real Networks, Nero etc.

However, it was proven to be an unreliable model and it was forgotten. Interesting to know, but the headline a is a bit misleading!
 
Sure, give me an iMac a few hundred dollars cheaper and I'll buy one that's ad supported :p
 
Ok, so in one column you have the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In the other column you have Ping, the Cube, and Ad-S-X. At lease they never came out with it. Especially now that OS upgrades are only like $30 USD.
 
As with many patents Apple does, they're designed to "lock-up" ideas so competitors can't do them or a way to generate licensing revenue from competitors and partners that want to.

Jobs would have done this only if the customer was able to opt out (buying the OS) or given free OS users control over it's use.

In the end, it's about profiling information for targeted advertising. This happens almost everywhere you shop and use a credit or debit card. It's why you get coupons for items you buy with your receipts and adverts in your mail. In a perfect world, this would be a great enhancement to everyone's lives, but in the real world we know different and is why most people try to avoid such things... but in reality the "cat is already out of the bag."
 
dodged a bullet with that one...

All I have to say is THANK HEAVENS THIS DID NOT HAPPEN else that would have been a cancerous blight on people's eyes!
 
jwsmiths said:
Have to remember the business climate of 1999, companies like NetZero were flourish with ad-driven services, Apple probably figured it would be easy to pick up some extra cash following that model and drag people into the future since when their computer didn't run OS 9 as well as it had run OS 8 and they liked the extra features that it brought they would look for a new Mac which would also include OS 9 without ads as a bonus. Win-win.
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Not Win-wn, Mac-mac.

________

The way I see this working, a few people would download the free version, 99 out of 100 would get fed up and upgrade to the paid version. I would never use it, however,I see no problem with others doing so. Think of the ad version as a trial OS.
 
Merely playing the devils advocate, but do you people only read the first few lines of articles? To those saying thank god it didn't happen, and that you would rather pay the $99...








The option to get an ad free OS would of existed according to the article. Woah.
 
This was an insanely awful idea! You sure couldn't use that OS for anything Real Time or mission critical (You could install the free version by accident). Imagine it in medical equipment or some sort of industrial setting. "You've got 30 seconds to close the flood valves!", "Sorry, I have to let this Ad finish before I regain control of the iMac!"
It would be comical and tragic at the same time.
 
Perhaps for the new Mac Pro 2012 Apple will enable this with Mountain Lion. So instead of paying $4,999 for the Mac Pro, it is only $2,599 but with tons of professional HD popup ads.;)
 
velocityg4 said:
The funny thing is most computer buyers already get this and have so for well over a decade. Just about every OEM PC comes loaded with bloat ware that are just straight ads, trials and basic programs that need upgrades to become useful.

There has been no outcry and they usually sit there until someone that knows what they are doing removes them. Every printer comes with adware for ink. Some external hard drives come with trial backup software and so forth. Even some paid software comes with adware such as the Ask toolbar.

Edit: Heck, as I recall there is a now defunct manufacturer that tried doing this in the late 90's or early 00's. By integrating ads into Windows and selling junk computers in the $200 to $300 range.
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There may not have been a very vocal outcry, but this is one of the reasons I chose OS X for my laptop. To get rid of the OEM stuff, and the OEM deals with, uh, fourth parties. I definitely think I'm not alone, and that this is playing a role in people's platform choices.
 
Isn't this pretty similar to what Amazon is doing with the new Kindle? You can buy it for cheaper if you want the ad supported version, or you can pay full price for no ads.
 
What a horrible "idea."

It's getting hard to move one's own elbows without bumping into advertising.
 
If Apple provided the option for free, ad supported movies and TV shows on AppleTV how many would accept? Can AppleTV become a mainstream product with $4.99 movie rentals and $1.99 TV show purchases?

Consider that, at the moment, many of us have subscription television (expensive) and have advertisements. Consider the success of Hulu which has a small subscription fee and advertisements.
 
I think it's useful to keep the original idea in context. The time in which this was conceived by Jobs was that of utter financial desperation for Apple. They needed alternate revenue streams and different ways of making money off every division, including their software divisions.

I'm guessing the patent was filed simply to shore up Jobs' portfolio, as the article postulates.
 
Well, this seems to have become a prevailing business model with iOS apps. There are plenty of ad-supported free or "Lite" versions of apps and then you pay to upgrade to the version with no ads. It seems to have become accepted better than we ever accepted adware on Macs or PCs (though they certainly existed).

I think it's silly at an OS level because using the OS is such a fundamental part of the computing experience, and also because if you're using OS X that means (usually) you've already purchased the Mac hardware. However, it might be a good way to have a "free trial" of the next OS. For example if I don't know if I want to upgrade to Mountain Lion, I could install an ad-supported free version and try it for a few months, and pay for the upgrade if I like it.

Now on the other hand, give me a free MacBook Air or iPad with the proviso that I have to watch ads before I can use it -- I'd probably go for that.

Or, as a poster above suggests, let me watch movies or TV shows on my Apple TV for free or at a discount, if I agree to watch ads. Still cheaper than cable.

Incidentally, I think the example of an ad for Epson ink wouldn't have worked out so well. If my Epson printer was running low on ink then of course I'm going to be buying Epson ink, as opposed to Canon or HP.
 
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