Hasta La Gadget!

Oh, woe is us. Users of Gmail‘s web client are reporting a most unwelcome new visitor to their communication service: display ads. The right-most column that Google reserves for ads has heretofore been populated only by easy-to-ignore text links, but as of the past few of days, image-based advertising has also been sneaking out to unsuspecting emailers. The guys over at Search Engine Land have done a bit of digging and received the following statement from Google:

“We’re always trying out new ad formats and placements in Gmail, and we recently started experimenting with image ads on messages with heavy image content.”

This little trial does seem to be taking place on a very limited basis, which is why there’s been no outrage since it began last Friday. Let’s just hope that the Google Display Network that’s responsible for these pictomercials thinks better of it and leaves our Gmails alone. We’d hate to have to leave the beautiful web for some impersonal mail-serving app.

[Thanks, Greg]

Google testing display ads in Gmail, our patience originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are no surer signs of the apocalyptic onset of middle age than a preoccupation with puzzle-solving and an unhealthy interest in adverts and barcodes. And those just happen to be the three new features Google has added to version 1.3 of its Goggles software. The visual search application for Android is now intelligent enough to decipher tricky Sudoku puzzles (and thereby suck all the fun out of them), while its algorithms have also been tweaked to make barcode scanning “almost” instant. Popular printed ads will be recognized as well, taking you to a Google search on the relevant topic. US newspapers and magazines from August 2010 are being supported for now, but we can’t imagine the rest of the world should have to wait too long for this added convenience. Video of the new Goggles’ Sudoku skills after the break.

Continue reading Google Goggles now solves Sudoku, taking an interest in ads, clearly entering middle age

Google Goggles now solves Sudoku, taking an interest in ads, clearly entering middle age originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Internet Explorer 9 privacy measures to include Tracking Protection

Internet Explorer 9 privacy measures to include Tracking Protection originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one benefit to living in the technological backwater that is Europe, it’s that “innovations” like iAds take a little longer to filter though — but filter through they eventually do, as evidenced by Apple’s announcement that its mobile advertising platform is hitting the Old World this December. French and British iOS users will get to enjoy being pestered by L’Oreal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, and Unilever next month, while their German counterparts will have their lives enriched in January. This follows on the heels of news that iAds is headed to Japan in early 2011 as well, covering the biggest developed markets with glorious promotional material. Advertisers don’t seem to be shying away from the platform, either, as Apple boasts it has signed up half of the top 25 US ad buyers (as judged by Ad Age). Full press release follows after the break.

Continue reading Apple bringing iAds to Europe in December, nobody rejoices

Apple bringing iAds to Europe in December, nobody rejoices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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