Goodbye ads, hello mining (1 Nov, 2017)

[aardvark_admin]

This column is archived at: http://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2017/1101.shtml

Yes, I know that ad-blockers can also rid you of the evil that is overly-enthusiastic online advertising, but what if you could swap a few CPU cycles in return for a legitimate freedom from ads?

Does this sound like a fair deal?

[GSVNoFixedAbode]

Far better idea than ads, with 2 caveats:
- as you say: clearly state the CPU-mining (like the cookie notification banner on first visit to UK sites)
- option for the user to switch back to ad-intrusive version of page to cope with low-resourced systems

[goosemoose]

Would it work with Lynx?

I wouldn't mind if it wasn't abused. A webpage these days uses a pile of CPU anyway to render the page with all the crap on it anyway, whats a few more cycles or maybe even less.

[par_annoyed]

as a grumpy cynic, I have the following ideas -

If they are using your CPU , then you are paying for the extra electricity to power it, and any extra cooling. Yes, you can argue this is tiny.
It also uses your computer's resources, which is not an issue in itself, but if you have an older slower system, then it is going to have an effect.
What if the process doesn't behave itself and starts taking 99% of your whole CPU ??
What if it hangs around after you close your browser (remember some browsers stay present as a silent process when all windows closed)

Why not just block the ads and scripts in the first place ? Or do you reckon pretty soon no web site will work without all the scripts enabled ??

[phill]

i have never seen a good reason for crypto money

those that find and deal in it are generally 1/10th of a step away from the lawless

it wastes real power to generate an imaginary thing ( how stupid is that )
its even more imaginary than normal money

it has no legal use that isnt adequately covered by legal tender
it has plenty of illegal uses .. in fact its just about all its useful for
and at the cost of computer security and now ransom

my thoughts stop promoting using or dealing in it

[phill]

ohh yeh and thats not to mention how many devices have miners pre embedded in them
and how many are infected with miners from malware
and how much more prevalent that will become

[joeseph]

swap a few CPU cycles in return for a legitimate freedom from ads?

if Sky TV is anything to go by, the temptation to do both will be too great to ignore. Good idea though...

[hagfish]

That's an interesting idea. I think ads generate much more revenue per impression than a couple of minutes mining Etherium on a phone ever could. In many cases, developers actually make less money when users pony up the $1.99 to get rid of ads on a 'free' app. Making money from mining via phones would require millions of phones running all the time, and no overheads. Only bad actors need apply.

The 'blockchain' is a stroke of genius and it's popping up in all sorts areas mediating all sorts of transactions. Crypto-currencies are just one application. As with gold, the people making the money mining coin are those who were first, and those selling the picks and shovels (AMD and nVidia and the SoC vendors).

[phill]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg ... ource=NSNS

short article