The IE8 InPrivate mode doesn’t prevent Google AdSense ads from being displayed

Have you downloaded InternetExplorer 8, yet?

As Microsoft introduces Windows 7, that’ll be the default browser so if you don’t do it by yourself on your current XP or Vista setup now, it’ll be done for you, in the next OS release.

Microsoft’s new web browser is packed with features and one of them has been quite a cause for concern, for the online advertising industry which heavily relies on external JavaScript calls to display ads.

Publishers displaying Google AdSense ads have been quite vocal about the possibility for a new feature, among many others, called InPrivate [browsing] mode (also called the “porn mode“) where the browser doesn’t record anything, may it be history, cookies or cache that’ll be wiped out at the end of the session (so you don’t get slowed down during that session), because it was feared that the ads, originating from Google, would cease to be visible.

If that were to happen, as is the case with AdBlock Plus for Firefox, it would have the potential to destroy large parts of the online advertising industry because IE8 is promising to become the browser of choice, over time.

But although things might change, right now, it looks like the InPrivate mode won’t prevent Google AdSense ads from displaying.

Millions of AdSense publishers might let go a long sight of relief, when looking at the following proof that AdSense ads display normally, even when using the InPrivate mode…

By the way, it should be noted that we used IE8′s “express settings”…

…and we also had InPrivate filtering turned on in such a way that IE8 would block content for us (with its own “default” settings)…

…with these settings “enforced” (none that we determined, actually)…

So that was pretty much as far as the typical web user would go, when using such settings. Assuming a “typical user” would be using them, in the first place.

In all fairness, it might be a while before this type of “filtering” reaches mainstream.

The AdBlock Plus extension, however, has prevented publishers from collecting untold amounts of advertising revenue, since it’s been released to the Firefox user base so the idea of seeing IE8 come out with a similar feature, not activated by default but easily available to all, has made honest and hard working —ad supported— publishers very nervous.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Microsoft will wage war with Google on that front. Perhaps the Redmond giant has a slight idea of what kind of “blogger-storm” it would attract upon itself by doing so or maybe it’s just common sense (yes, that too can happen at Microsoft, according to certains rumors).

Whatever the reason, Microsoft’s IE8 InPrivate mode seems to play nice with Google AdSense ads on all publisher web sites that we checked (and we checked many of them, from all over the world, in several languages) so for now, it’s all good.

Let’s hope —and perhaps lobby— for things to stay this way.

And for AdBlock Plus to grow up and stop hurting honest web publishers.

Tags: ie8, internetexplorer 8, microsoft, adsense, google adsense, google, online advertising, online ads, web ads, ppc ads, pay-per-click, ad zones, display ads, hide ads, prevent ads from displaying, adblock plus, inprivate, filtering, web browser, internet users, advertising revenue, money, finance, common sense

What social networking vendors offer, for businesses…

The social networking scene has taken the web by storm as Blogger, Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace and countless others expand peoples’ reach way beyond their physical community to realms that span across cyberspace.

It so easy.

People create a profile and voilà !

They’re set to share content, ideas and opinions.

Social networking, especially for those who know their way around, is insanely cool. It’s no surprise that so many organizations are looking to setup their own, internally. Once a business social network is up and running, if it’s done right, employees and managers can connect among themselves with ease.

One theory, with regards to business social networks, is that good ideas get validated and bad ideas get discarded more quickly, which leads to faster product development — but it’s just a theory.

In general, companies will benefit, in various ways, from the content that’s being created, shared, added upon and archived for later use.

Any company can make social networking yield benefits but like most new things, it would be foolish to attempt to qualify its financial bottomline usefulness with hard metrics. For the time being, it’s more a matter of getting in early than trying to catch up, later on.

So assuming you’re ready to launch your internal social network, which solution should you choose? Well, that’s for the IT guys to decide but to get the ball rolling, consider the following vendors…

• Drupal
  • Open source.
  • Great at community-driven sites.
  • Blogs and profiles.
• IBM Lotus Connections
  • Paid software.
  • Helps you execute tasks more quickly by using dynamic networks of coworkers, partners and customers
  • Blogs, profiles, social bookmarks, communities and more.
• Jive Software
  • Licensed software or hosted SaaS.
  • Integrates the “enterprise 2.0″ capabilities of collaboration software, community software and social networking software.
  • Wikis, blogs, profiles, social bookmarks, tags, discussions and more.
• MS-SharePoint
  • Paid server software, MS SaaS or hosted by 3rd parties.
  • In its own words: connecting people, process and information.
  • Wikis, blogs, profiles and communities.
• NewsGator
  • Paid software. Extends MS-SharePoint.
  • Empower employees, customers and partners to collaborate, communicate, and innovate in order to create business value through social computing.
  • SharePoint add-ons for tags, tag clouds, expert search, discussions and more.
• Scuttle
  • Open source.
  • Light on the more advanced features but does social bookmarking like it should.
  • Social bookmarking.
• Socialtext
  • Paid hosted service or on-location server appliance.
  • Used for all employees to get a collective view of what’s going on and share content.
  • Wikis, blogs, profiles, social bookmarks and microblogging.
• Telligent
  • Lease the software or buy perpetual licenses.
  • Designed for high-volume communities where performance and up-time are critical.
  • Wikis, blogs, profiles, groups and communities, social analytics and more.

And as you continue searching for vendors, expect to find lots of other worthwhile finds. Keep in mind that the big software firms are currently being swarmed by waves of smaller firms offering solid codesets and eye-pleasing visuals so expect the heated competition to go on, for a while.

In case you were just thinking about this…

Yes, open source has an advantage over most paid and hosted solutions: it’s free!

It’s also instantly available through a simple download and there’s no licensing fee, whatsoever. If you can make up for a little less “business-class support”, open source scripts will likely end up being your first and all-time best choice. Keep in mind open source projects evolve all the time and all those upcoming updates will also be… free. Which is nice.

And don’t forget that open source projects usually come with mountains of useful plug-ins which add bleeding edge features to your core script. Plus the fact you can dive right into your code and tweak just about anything you want. No encryption here.

But perhaps open source is not your thing.

If that’s your case, paid scripts (or software) or hosted solutions is where you’ll most likely end up as very few organizations develop their own social networking engine from scratch.

With such solutions, the deeper your pockets, the more features you’ll get.

And you’re not too picky, customizationwise, you’ll be up and running rather quickly. Software as a service (or “Saas”) is where many mid-sized companies like to do business because everything’s hosted externally. There can be some cost saving at first but as the content volume grows, it can inflate the rent to the point where it’s not that much of a deal anymore so watch out for that. Do your mathematical projections before you sign-up.

Paid software is generally hosted in-house and it’s generally yours for life but remember that the upgrades might cost you a lot of dough, over and above all the other technical maintenance cost. Again, do your mathematical projections before rearranging your server room to accomodate a business social networking software solution.

If you still feel anxious about deploying a social network in your enterprise, seek help from the vendors themselves or from local IT firms which specialize in web 2.0 stuff.

All in all, if your organization is still unsure about wether it’s worth it to have an internal social network, consider that employees will get access to blogs, wikis and tools that let them communicate, collaborate and share information.

The real bottom-line question might be, how much is it worth, to your enterprise, to have its employees using applications it controls and manages? Once that question is answered, everything else aligns itself accordingly.

Tags: social networking, social networks, internal networks, company social network, enterprise, business, social networking vendors, ibm, lotus, jive, sharepoint, saas, hosted solutions, paid software, .net, microsoft, blogs, wikis, search, information, connect, share, content, server

Google Chrome enters the browser war

It can look deceivingly simple.

The planet’s search giant launches —yet another— web browser.

Is that supposed to be noteworthy?

Consider that Google has launched the beta version of Chrome, their own flavor of web browser, which is a MS-Windows software set to make browsing the web as pleasant an experience as searching it, using the Google Search web site.

For the average user out there, that’s the kind of argument that will send shockwaves out to Microsoft’s seemingly stagnant Internet Explorer developers who have, in many ways, failed to make their browser significantly more user-friendly. Even in their Beta 8 release. Yikes!

But what’s wrong with Firefox (open source superhero), Opera, Safari or Camino?

Nothing, they’re very functional and serve countless netizens very well, on a daily basis. So why would Google spin their own browser, amid a healthy selection of other quality browsers? Because the -real- target isn’t just the web browsing part, it’s the “operating system” part.

That’s right, folks!

Google has been talking about it for many years and it seems Chrome is the software foundation through which they could eventually take a shot at managing —part or all— of the OS itself.

Now, this is -major- news and if Microsoft wasn’t paying attention about the browser part, they’re definitely tuning in for the OS part because that’s their business’ core bread and butter.

And Google seems to have a plan so the Redmond folks better move quickly or risk missing their window of opportunity to cash in on the next big paradigm shift that could turn the OS foundation upside down as the Mountain View search giant marches on in front of the world open source parade towards another score.

It all seems complex but it’s not.

Google wants to grow and it appears, among other alternatives, leading the browser war to get a software foundation in place for a shot at delivering the very OS that makes PCs work, makes good business sense.

So Google Chrome is available for download and as usual, it’s free!

Firefox is still the open source crowd’s favorite but the browser war just got hotter with the introduction of Google Chrome. These are very interesting times…

Tags: google chrome, free browser, google browser, browse the web, mountain view browser, map browser, anonymity browser, anonymous browsing, the next os, google os, google operating system, microsoft, ms-windows, pc, ie, internet explorer, ms-explorer, redmond, browser war, browser features

Firefox 3 rocks the web

Upgrading your web browser should be a cause for celebration, this time around.

Firefox 3 comes with around 14,000 fixes, adjustments and upgrades but if you’re moving up from Firefox 2, you’ll enjoy a very smooth transition and here’s a quick overview of what’s in store for you with this amazing new upgrade.

• Password Manager - Remember site passwords without ever seeing a pop-up.
• One-Click Bookmarking - Bookmark, search and organize Web sites quickly and easily.
• Improved Performance - View Web pages faster, using less of your computer’s memory.
• Smart Location Bar - Find the sites you love in seconds — enter a term for instant matches that make sense.
• Instant Web Site ID - Avoid online scams, unsafe transactions and forgeries with simple site identity.
• Full Zoom - See any part of a Web page, up close and readable, in seconds.
• Platform-Native Look & Feel - Browse with a Firefox that’s integrated into your computer’s operating system.

Even if that’s already worthy of a primary digit upgrade, 3, in this case, there’s more.

Consider the very web 2.0-like ability to add tags to bookmarks, just like in blogs and wikis. This means that above and beyond the usual bookmark categories you create and manage, the tags can add a significant level of precision regarding the content available in your bookmarked pages.

Oh! And you can bookmark links with one click by clicking on the little blue star nested in the smart location bar that’ll make you navigation easier than ever by suggesting web sites you may want to visit, as you type the name in the location field, live.

Furthermore, Firefox 3 protects you from viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware. Not bad for a browser — Microsoft should take notes! Attack sites will have a much harder time defrauding ususpecting web users now that Firefox 3 integrates these anti-malware features. In other words, in your clueless aunt Mimi still finds herself being the victim of fraudsters, go to her place and install Firefox 3 on her machine so her misery will stop, once and for all.

There would be many more features to review and talk about but the real story with Firefox 3 is how much more advanced it is, compared to the current market leader, Internet Explorer 6. Even if Microsoft acts tough and maintain that their browser is still number one, the online crowd can move quickly and the place they would like go is deep into Mozilla territory, thanks to Firefox 3.

To this day, 19,882,507 web users have downloaded Firefox 3 and that number is going up, all the time.

Tags: firefox 3, mozilla, web browser, web page navigation, ie6, microsoft, open source, free software, anti-malware, best browser

Microsoft’s sudden affection for openness

Techies know full well that the software market is becoming an ecosystem of sorts in which products not built to standards and lacking interoperability will wither… and disappear.

Up to now, Microsoft has been the perfect example of closed source software stuffed with heavily patented processes, even when such processes were so common and blatantly obvious that they shouldn’t have gotten any patent protection to start with.

So in face of the powerful grassroots tsunami in favor of open standards, open source and creative commons-type of property statements, Microsoft has recently decided to take a concrete action towards openness by publishing 30,000 pages documenting Windows protocols that previously were only available under restrictive licenses.

Furthermore, Microsoft said it won’t sue open source developers for noncommercial implementations of those protocols but frankly, it remains to be seen if an open source coder will take the chance to inject Microsoft-based code in their work.

Ongoing European antitrust scrutiny over Microsoft’s push to get its Open XML document format ratified as an international standard might have everything to do with the company’s CEO, Steve Balmer, suddenly vowing for openness.

Microsoft’s move is a step in the right direction because even though some third parties might take from them, codewise, they might also add value to the current codebase.

Since loosely coupled systems will become a basic requirement for business success in the coming years, Microsoft’s decision to play more nicely with all other coders out there appears that much more important for the company’s future.

Tags: microsoft, openness, open source, developers, windows, protocols, open xml

MS-Surface ditches the mouse

It’s all over the news — Microsoft is taking a break from the “Vista-is-the-future” campaign to show the world something that actually looks like it’s “futureworthy”.

If the name “Surface” doesn’t ring a bell yet, wait until you visit a restaurant, hotel, retail outlet or casino resort where this technology is deployed. It’s so innovative and different from what we’re used to that at Microsoft, Surface is dubbed a new product category!

The device which looks like a small food cooler with a screen on top is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft and it’s expected to break down barriers, especially for those who don’t mix too well with “traditional” technology. Surface provides effortless interaction with information using touch, natural gestures and physical objects, like a mobile phone or a digital camera.

To wrap your head around Surface, just imagine a touchscreen surface that can recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone while allowing hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. No USB or FireWire cable clutter here -and- no time wasted trying to figure out how to properly mount the device. As long as it’s compatible, you just drop it on the surface and it’s recognized.

To anyone who has wasted countless hours trying to configure their personal computer so it can play well with the plethora of tech gadgets that multiply around it, this sounds like tech nirvana!

But that’s not all, Surface isn’t shy and welcomes collaboration. That means the whole family can gather-round the 30-inch display and check out the pictures and do all sorts of manipulations on them… hopefully in a collaborative manner.

The whole point of Surface appears to revolve around providing a dynamic surface that makes effortless interaction with all forms of digital content a reality. For the movie fans who remember Tom Cruise’s information handling (with his hands moving holograms, floating in the air) in Minority Report, it appears Surface could be the first major commercial step towards that kind of “user interaction” spirit.

This post’s title announces the end of the mouse, as we know it, with Surface but that’s not all, even the physical keyboard gets the pink slip — nevertheless, your fingers will still come in very handy but this time, they’ll be all over the touchscreen.

Microsoft is trying to add a profoundly human touch to the computing experience, with Surface. In fact, putting people back in control mainly happens through the following key attributes:

• Direct interaction - Users can actually “grab” digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture (without the use of a mouse or keyboard).
• Multi-touch - Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen but up to dozens of items at once.
• Multi-user - The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
• Object recognition - Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.

Microsoft’s Surface Computing clearly brings to life a whole new way to interact with information that engages the senses, improves collaboration and empowers consumers who can use these devices to, for example, pay their bar tab.

People who have tried Surface are few and far between so “issues” aren’t yet discussed but speed, privacy and sanitary matters come to mind. For instance, will the MS-Surface slow down considerably if the digital camera contains hundreds of high-resolution pictures, will people passing by be able to see what the user is doing and at the end of a busy day, will it still be safe for anyone to hover their fingers over the same surface everybody else did earlier? Those and many other interesting questions should find answers as more people get their hands dirty with Surface, litterally.

So, who’s eager to try Microsoft’s idea of Surface Computing?

Tags: microsoft, surface computing, touchscreen, collaboration, tech

The lion could end up eating up the mice’s cheese

Windows XP is the most widely installed operating system in the world and the number of companies contributing valuable software offerings for it is second to none.

Now that Microsoft is looking for ways to transit as many users as possible to its upcoming Vista operating system, in as little time as possible, there appears to be serious trouble in paradise between Microsoft and a growing number of its “partner” developers.

Two of those “previously friendly” partners are Symantec and Trend Micro.

They might be joined soon by many more developers who openly oppose Microsoft’s unforeseen move to shut down any kind of access to the root security access, effectively closing the gates for any serious security software company who are looking to launch offerings for Vista.

If Microsoft starts losing support from its developers, especially the biggest ones, the future for Vista could be somewhat compromized. If these frustrated (and justifiably so) developers start pushing their development for Linux, that could rapidly shift a significant part of the Windows market towards the “open source alternatives”.

To illustrate what’s happening in a rather humorous way, imagine Microsoft as being the figurative lion looking to eat away at the mice’s (figuratively reprensenting Symantec and Trend Micro) much smaller, but still appealing, piece of cheese.

This dangerous new tendency for Microsoft to shut out its developers is bad news for, well, the developers because they instantly lose their cash cow but consumers will also find it frustrating to see the software variety (and probably reliability, as Microsoft shuts off the access to important parts of its core codebase), not to mention the fact Vista might come to be seen for what it is, a grossly overpriced, underperforming and largely unreliable operating system that’s about five years behing MacOS X (especially the upcoming Tiger release) and Linux (namely the releases using the almighty Debian OS).

Microsoft should perhaps stop acting like a proverbial bully, especially with its developers, because all it’ll get with such an attitude is, most presumably, a plethora of damaging antitrust lawsuits.

Tags: antitrust, symantec, trend micro, microsoft, windows vista, windows xp