|
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
|
Author
|
Topic: AOL's new "Pop-Up" Controls.
|
Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
![](http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/paulpics.cgi)
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted 03-12-2003 06:59 PM
Hey! They really work! Up to now, I had all these CNN pop-ups, funky pop-ups, pop-up pop-ups, and all that good annoying stuff that covers areas where you are trying to read. AOL now has a patch that will install itself to fix that.
If you want to install this patch, look for it to cycle through on the AOL welcome screen. Click on it, and follow the prompts. The patch will download when you sign off, install itself, and the next time you sign on, go to keyword "pop-up Controls" and make your preferences. Then, kiss the pop-up's goodby.
The area to find in circled in red. Sorry about the double tool bar....my bad.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
![](http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/paulpics.cgi)
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted 03-12-2003 11:14 PM
Sam, This is from USA Today (Gannett)
AOL targets other sites' pop-up ads By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
America Online is escalating its battle against pop-up advertising.
The No. 1 Web service plans to launch a feature today that lets subscribers block nearly all unsolicited pop-up ads on the Web.
No. 3 provider EarthLink rolled out a similar option last summer. And in October, AOL said it would stop selling unsolicited pop-up ads that appear on its own service.
"Members are telling us, 'I want you to put me in the driver's seat,' " says Jeffrey Kimball, vice president of product marketing.
The move is AOL's latest effort to retain subscribers, who have been defecting to rival broadband services and cheaper dial-up options.
"I think it sends a very important signal that AOL is putting customers front and center," says Charles Buchwalter, analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings. About 2% to 3% of online ads are pop-ups, a figure Buchwalter expects to drop slightly this year. "Pop-ups are at the top of the list of consumers' concerns."
Stand-alone pop-up blockers are available on the Web, but few consumers use them, he says.
The feature will be available to users of AOL 8.0, its latest version, within two weeks. Users can download it by typing "pop-up controls" in the keyword space.
The AOL product enables users to turn the control on or off with a single click and to specify Web sites from which they want to allow pop-ups. When an ad is blocked, a sound will alert users, who can still click to see it.
AOL says its service is more discriminating than EarthLink's. It allows non-advertising pop-up boxes that appear when members click on a link. It also permits unsolicited pop-ups on secure sites, such as banks, which provide forms or other vital functions.
EarthLink says its subscribers can easily summon pop-up boxes they want by double-clicking on the link. And bank sites can simply be added to a list of approved pop-up suppliers.
The latest move isn't the end of pop-up ads for AOL members. AOL says it won't block animated pop-up ads that use "flash" technology because many Web sites use similar pop-ups to show movies. EarthLink says it blocks all pop-ups, including multimedia ads.
Subscribers will continue to get pop-ups on AOL that promote company services, such as AOL Broadband. AOL is also fulfilling existing contracts for third-party pop-ups on its service. The number of those ads has dropped as contracts have expired, AOL officials say.
By opting out of internal pop-ups, members can eliminate those third-party ads and dramatically reduce AOL promotions.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
![](/ubbmembers/64b.jpg)
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 03-13-2003 08:26 AM
Pop-up? What's a pop-up?
Most browsers I know of have the feature built right in so that you can control them. Essentially, if you didn't click a link that asks for a window to be opened, the browser won't open any other windows. I think there is an exception for Java being allowed to open windows by itself but that's all I know.
Using Chimera as my browser (now known as Camino) I haven't seen a single unsolicited popup in several months. OmniWeb, Safari and Opera all have those features too.
It really peeves me off that companies like AOL allow this kind of shit to go on... Then they charge you MORE money for software to block the ads.
Let's see, now... They collect marketing information from your computer without your knowledge, then they sell that information to advertising companies who "blitz" you with advertisements, then they offer to sell you software to stop those ads. Two opposing streams of revenue there, no? But, isn't AOL the most expensive internet company to begin with?
If I tried to do someting like that, I'd probably land in jail!
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
![](http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/paulpics.cgi)
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted 03-13-2003 10:17 PM
Barry, most pop-ups I get were from legit websites of local newspapers, such as Seattle PI, Seattle Times, USA Today, and others I go to by using MSIE by default via AOL.
I disabled AOL's in-house pop-ups by using the "Settings/Preferences" Tab within the AOL screen. That took care of all the in-house stuff, but web browsing was still a pop-up disaster until I downloaded the free anti-popup utility AOL has to offer.
It sure makes things nicer.....that's for sure.
But when I use www.msn.com by itself on the other monitor and type in a web address, I am hit hard by pop-ups. That pisses me off. Somewhere I heard msn.com has a version of their own, but if it does, I don't know how to engage it. I looked through the internet options tab, and didn't find anything that allows pop-up controls. I have the security level at default (medium). When I "screw it down" any tighter, it just seems to bog things down too much.
Opera Web Browser seems to be "really clean"....have had no problems with it as far as pop-up's are concerned. It is a cool browser, but I don't use it all the time.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|