7 ms·

I'm surprised that the ad sevices aren't smarter. Wait until on wifi, cache a bunch of ads, share those ads amongst all the apps that use your service. Is this

by mcritz 15y ago

I'm surprised that the ad sevices aren't smarter. Wait until on wifi, cache a bunch of ads, share those ads amongst all the apps that use your service. Is this feasible?

untog 15y ago
Feasible in a centralised, OS-level ad system, yes. iAds may do it, I have no idea. But most ad systems are embedded at the app level, so when that app is turned off, no downloading can take place.
- mdwrigh2 15y ago
  You don't need it to be OS-level. When an app with ads turns on, just have it grab a whole bunch of potential ads and cache them in some shared data store (e.g. a Content Provider). I imagine that the harder part is grabbing the right ads so that you have something relevant to show. There's also some concern about leaking ad information, but I'm not sure how much advertisers care about that.
  - untog 15y ago
    You don't need it to be OS-level. When an app with ads turns on, just have it grab a whole bunch of potential ads and cache them in some shared data store That alone would require it to be OS-level, at least on iOS (AFAIK).
    - mdwrigh2 15y ago
      You could probably do this with some cleverness using Keychain or a custom URL scheme that an app with ads will only respond to if they have some ads cached. I'm not 100% certain on this though as I've done very little with iOS. On Android this is obviously much easier. Just use a content provider as I mentioned above.
mistercow 15y ago
It should be. But until there's some competitive pressure for them to do that, they won't.
brudgers 15y ago
I'm not. There is no incentive for better energy utilization. [edit] for advertizement driven software. Energy efficiency is something which goes to the bottom line of handset manufacturers. That this research comes from Microsoft, not Google, shows how different the incentives in regards to energy management are for the two companies' mobile OS's.[/edit] [edit 2]It also illustrates the problem of the commons inherent in the app model. Lots of contact with the ad server is great for each app and poor for overall energy efficiency.[/edit 2]
- mdwrigh2 15y ago
  I mean, there are incentives. If a battery lasts longer, a user will spend more time in apps, which leads to more ad views. Whether the ad companies are measuring and paying attention to this is a different matter.
  - fluidcruft 15y ago
    They also spend more time in the app when it stutters and lags due to ad load. /snark Otherwise... it's just another reason to learn smali.
- obtu 15y ago
  Android has a “where did my battery go” UI to provide that incentive.
fluidcruft 15y ago
Well, if only I could tell them that I don't give a shit about dating sites or finding! singles! in! my! area!
- GFischer 15y ago
  At least I do get a relevant ad (for a DirecTV promotion, I don't have cable). But seeing it 100.000 times is NOT going to make me purchase it.
dminor 15y ago
It seems like it would make daily budgets trickier since not all ads would be shown, and not necessarily on the same day they were served.

by mcritz 15y ago

I'm surprised that the ad sevices aren't smarter. Wait until on wifi, cache a bunch of ads, share those ads amongst all the apps that use your service. Is this feasible?

untog 15y ago

Feasible in a centralised, OS-level ad system, yes. iAds may do it, I have no idea. But most ad systems are embedded at the app level, so when that app is turned off, no downloading can take place.

mdwrigh2 15y ago
You don't need it to be OS-level. When an app with ads turns on, just have it grab a whole bunch of potential ads and cache them in some shared data store (e.g. a Content Provider). I imagine that the harder part is grabbing the right ads so that you have something relevant to show. There's also some concern about leaking ad information, but I'm not sure how much advertisers care about that.
- untog 15y ago
  You don't need it to be OS-level. When an app with ads turns on, just have it grab a whole bunch of potential ads and cache them in some shared data store That alone would require it to be OS-level, at least on iOS (AFAIK).
  - mdwrigh2 15y ago
    You could probably do this with some cleverness using Keychain or a custom URL scheme that an app with ads will only respond to if they have some ads cached. I'm not 100% certain on this though as I've done very little with iOS. On Android this is obviously much easier. Just use a content provider as I mentioned above.

mistercow 15y ago

It should be. But until there's some competitive pressure for them to do that, they won't.

brudgers 15y ago

I'm not. There is no incentive for better energy utilization. [edit] for advertizement driven software. Energy efficiency is something which goes to the bottom line of handset manufacturers. That this research comes from Microsoft, not Google, shows how different the incentives in regards to energy management are for the two companies' mobile OS's.[/edit] [edit 2]It also illustrates the problem of the commons inherent in the app model. Lots of contact with the ad server is great for each app and poor for overall energy efficiency.[/edit 2]

mdwrigh2 15y ago
I mean, there are incentives. If a battery lasts longer, a user will spend more time in apps, which leads to more ad views. Whether the ad companies are measuring and paying attention to this is a different matter.
- fluidcruft 15y ago
  They also spend more time in the app when it stutters and lags due to ad load. /snark Otherwise... it's just another reason to learn smali.
obtu 15y ago
Android has a “where did my battery go” UI to provide that incentive.

fluidcruft 15y ago

Well, if only I could tell them that I don't give a shit about dating sites or finding! singles! in! my! area!

GFischer 15y ago
At least I do get a relevant ad (for a DirecTV promotion, I don't have cable). But seeing it 100.000 times is NOT going to make me purchase it.

dminor 15y ago

It seems like it would make daily budgets trickier since not all ads would be shown, and not necessarily on the same day they were served.