Sunday, February 15, 2004
Aura Takes Consumer Info To Next Level, Or Just More Advertising?
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "ARTICLE" @ 05:00 AM
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1527149,00.asp
Aura is a new technology at Microsoft Research that initially will include a Pocket PC, a bar code scanner and WiFi or some other wireless technology that will allow you to scan barcodes and be whisked to online sites with facts, user reviews, blogs, etc. about that product. In theory it sounds cool. Think about being in Best Buy looking for a flat screen TV. Once in a while you'll run across an informed sales person on the floor, but when making that kind of purchase, I jot down as much info as possible then complete my research online. However, there is the specter of advertising and privacy. Would not such a product have the potential to be the bleeding edge of spyware and adware, with WiFi signals telling the store, or worse - a DoubleClick database :devilboy: - what you are looking at and where you are?
"But there's another, darker reason for Microsoft's Aura fantasy. And that's advertising. You know as soon as you enter the store, a little "helper" app will wake up on your scanning computer. And instead of getting Phred's opinion, you'll get Charmin's—thinly veiled as Charmaine from Sheboygan, probably. And the last thing I need is some nasty spyware bot discovering that, in fact, I prefer Cottonelle."
The client will require Pocket PC 2002 or later and should be available here when it is ready.
Aura is a new technology at Microsoft Research that initially will include a Pocket PC, a bar code scanner and WiFi or some other wireless technology that will allow you to scan barcodes and be whisked to online sites with facts, user reviews, blogs, etc. about that product. In theory it sounds cool. Think about being in Best Buy looking for a flat screen TV. Once in a while you'll run across an informed sales person on the floor, but when making that kind of purchase, I jot down as much info as possible then complete my research online. However, there is the specter of advertising and privacy. Would not such a product have the potential to be the bleeding edge of spyware and adware, with WiFi signals telling the store, or worse - a DoubleClick database :devilboy: - what you are looking at and where you are?
"But there's another, darker reason for Microsoft's Aura fantasy. And that's advertising. You know as soon as you enter the store, a little "helper" app will wake up on your scanning computer. And instead of getting Phred's opinion, you'll get Charmin's—thinly veiled as Charmaine from Sheboygan, probably. And the last thing I need is some nasty spyware bot discovering that, in fact, I prefer Cottonelle."
The client will require Pocket PC 2002 or later and should be available here when it is ready.
