Google Envisions Free Cell Phones For All 164
Salvance writes "Google's CEO Eric Schmidt envisions a day when all cell phones are free if the user agrees to watch targeted ads. While he provides no specific plans for Google to give away phones, the implication is that he expects such moves in the future given Google's current pilot successes with delivering text ads on phones." From the article: "Schmidt also said his company was working on how to allow users to maintain basic control of their personal data. Currently, Google stores consumer data on hundreds of thousands of its own computers in order to provide additional services to individual users. The company is looking to allow consumers to export their Web search history or e-mail archives and move them to other sites, if they so choose."
Re:What the hell (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, not in the USA really.
Our pay-per-view tv still has ads most of the time, thou fortunatly not interrupting the show, just at the begining, and sometimes at the end.
Even when you go and buy a DVD, there are generally ads packed at the start, and frequently set so you can't skip them.
Technically downloading here isn't suppost to be illegal, but i fear it soon will be, in addition to distributing and copying which already is illegal (regarding bittorrent downloaded shows, where you upload as well) and ripping a DVD to remove the ads (or atleast change it so they can be skipped) is definatly illegal.
Of course a large portion of us don't care about the fact its illegal, and do it anyway, but that's the only way to get ad free movies and shows these days in the US.
Yeay USA