Windows 11 Testing Dystopian Banner Ads In File Explorer Because We Live In Hell
I simultaneously can't believe I'm about to type these words and also know this was always inevitable: Microsoft is testing banner adverts within the Windows 11 file explorer.
As reported by The Verge, a banner ad was spotted in the Windows 11 file explorer encouraging people to check out the Microsoft Editor. In a statement given to The Verge, Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager for Windows said, "This was an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned off."
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If that doesn't fill you with a warm sense of comfort, you're not alone. The statement in no way reassures us that these types of ads won't be pushed in the future, meaning we won't even be able to browse our own files without some corporation vying for our attention.
The whole thing has big Ready Player One vibes, where comically evil CEO Nolan Sorrento proudly boasts, "We estimate we can sell up to 80% of an individual's visual field before inducing seizures!"
Look what you've made me do Microsoft, you've made me agree with Ready Player One. This is unforgivable.
Unfortunately, companies advertising products within their own ecosystems is increasingly common, and doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. Already, paying Amazon Prime subscribers get 15-second adverts at the start of a lot of films and TV shows. You may think these aren't too bad, but that's how YouTube ads started, and now we have double 30-second ones.
Video games frequently advertise their own DLC once booted up, with many continuing to do so in menus once the game has begun. This is all on top of the product placement that has already existed within these ecosystems
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