The success of advertising-driven business models on the internet continues to foster a belief among some people that everything can be made better with ads, like the ATT exec that thought it might be a good idea to put ads in people's cell phone ringtones. Now, a company hopes to make a frustration with which we're all familiar -- being put on hold by a business -- just a little more annoying by replacing hold music with targeted ads (via MocoNews). So while you wait for that tech-support person to pick up, or you get shuffled around from department to department, you can be treated to context-sensitive advertising. The mind boggles at the possibilities: ads for bookkeeping services when you call to straighten out a billing error, or for anger management classes when you get fed up. The company says that callers would have to opt in to hear the ads when they're on hold (and it's hard to imagine many people would), but they could also be played without any caller approval when they call free services like directory assistance. Up next: ad-supported bankruptcy filings...

Seasat 1 gives oceanographers their first in-depth look across the world's broad ocean environment.