Leaked from today's 404 episode:
- Ad creep creeps are getting creepier -- a couple of the strangest ad-placements ever.
- You know Best Buy is doing poorly when a positive customer review is news.
- How manufactured smells are making people shop longer and kill better.
- Jack from our 404 Subreddit created an RSS feed of every 404 episode. Thanks dude!… Read more
Users in search of ad-blocking apps on Google Play won't have any luck as of today. Google has reportedly launched a campaign to remove apps that interfere with advertising from its app store.
Several app developers for apps such as AdBlock, AdAway, and AdFree received notices from Google today saying that their apps had been taken down, according to Phandroid. Apparently, these apps were in violation of Google Play's Developer Distribution Agreement.
This agreement says that developers must agree not to "engage in any activity with the market, including the development or distribution of products, that interferes … Read more
I'd like to discuss the English word "naff."
Not yet au courant in the United States, this is a British word whose closest American approximation might be "cheesy." But it's more aggressive and derisive than that.
"Naff" is invading my mind right now, after seeing yet another element of Samsung's Galaxy S4 launch advertising.
Today, a flash mob that would not have looked out of place on the duller side of Broadway at least 35 years ago, appeared in Times Square.
This followed cold on the heels of a couple of … Read more
Apple's built-in browser, Safari, is not very friendly to outside plug-ins or services. For them to work, often a proxy or invasive app is needed that can access your data. It's not an ideal solution. So, AdBlock for iPhone, iPad, and iTouch, produced as a hobby by developer Benjamin Loewe, is a fantastic solution. Designed and implemented as a standalone Web browser, AdBlock promises to stop pop-ups, layer ads, blinking banner ads, and subscription traps from appearing on screen -- an increasingly common problem in the age of smartphone Web browsing. The browser starts up immediately, much like … Read more
Apple released a set of snazzy new iPhone commercials today dubbed "Brilliant" and "Discover" to show off various features and apps on the smartphone.
Choreographed to upbeat music -- the same as its recent iPad ads -- the commercials display the phone in a pair of hands that click, tap, and swipe through various games, apps, and videos.
"Brilliant" highlights how people can use the smartphone to pay for a Starbucks coffee with the Passbook app, use the scientific MyScript math calculator, and control the dimming of a lamp with the new Hue Lighting … Read more
What is Jeremy's favorite color?!
Samsung today released Part 2 of its teaser ad series for the Galaxy S4 smartphone launch with its "secret messenger," a boy named Jeremy. In the first ad, Jeremy is allowed to look inside a box that ostensibly houses the Galaxy S4, and runs home with it. At the end of that video, Jeremy sits down at a desk in his room and the video ends with "to be continued."
In the second installment, Jeremy is hounded by a neighbor girl, Jane, who thinks the package is for her (or … Read more
Microsoft has confirmed that by no means is it winding down its anti-Google Scroogle campaign. In fact, the company was so pleased with the last two chapters of its crusade that it's gearing up for a third chapter.
"Scroogled will go on as long as Google keeps Scroogling people," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET.
Microsoft began its Scroogle campaign with the goal of urging users to dump Gmail for its own Outlook.com over privacy concerns. Dubbed "Don't get Scroogled by Gmail," Microsoft addresses the issue that Google scans users' e-mails to determine relevant … Read more
CNET Update can't keep a secret:
Soon we will know the secrets of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Until the smartphone is unveiled on March 14, the young Jeremy Maxwell must keep the secret smartphone safe. (Wait, what?) Samsung's odd teaser video for the Galaxy S4 might leave you asking, "What was Samsung thinking?"
Other stories mentioned in Monday's tech news roundup:
- An indie film premieres exclusively on Xbox Live
- YouTube's iOS app can send videos to your TV
- The Socialmatic Camera will be made in 2014, with support from Polariod
- … Read more
By opening up an ad tool that thrives on user contact information, Facebook is giving more advertisers a chance to market directly to users.
The social network announced today that it's expanding access to its custom audience tool -- a tool that lets companies target their ads to existing customers based on their phone numbers and e-mail addresses. The tool, one of Facebook's several advertising tools that rely on user data, rolled out in September. The contact information is not directly shared between companies -- it's hashed to protect privacy and then used to place ads, according … Read more
Apple may be on the way to controlling more of how advertisers get user information from mobile devices.
According to TechCrunch, unnamed industry sources are saying that Apple's App Review team is denying apps that use "cookie tracking." This could be a signal that the company is going full force into its own Advertising Identifier technology.
Theoretically, the way cookie tracking works on mobile is similar to desktop: a cookie saves data and information on users' browsing history that can be used later by the app or Web site. According to TechCrunch, it was introduced as an … Read more
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CNET's Galaxy S4 giveaway spectacular!
CNET's publishing another supercharged e-book. "Mastering the Galaxy S4" is almost here, so we're celebrating with a huge S4-related giveaway.
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