text:
|Authenticating user access to a network server without communicating user authentication cookie to the network server
|Howard et al.
|System and method of mediating a web page
|Bodwell et al.
|Method and apparatus for proxy chaining
|Method and apparatus of using a single computer program source code base to provide a program that is operable in either a client-server mode or a standalone mode
|Apparatus and accompanying methods for network distribution and interstitial rendering of information objects to client computers
|Landsman et al.
|Active talker display for web-based control of conference calls
|Wellner et al.
|Viewing an information set originated from a distribution media and updating using a remote server
|Miller et al.
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|Browser controller
|Method and apparatus for configuring a client to redirect requests to a caching proxy server based on a category ID with the request
|Pistriotto et al.
This application claims the benefit of the following applications:
The above are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
This application claims the benefit of the following applications:
The above are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to systems and methods that facilitate client software interactions with a remote server through use of cookie files. The invention has particular applicability to internet applications where it is desired to allow a user to perform a click-through on a URL tag located within a client Java® based software routine using a proxy.
The use of the world wide web (WWW) is increasing rapidly, and so of course is the demand for intelligent systems and software which can permit users to better and more easily explore the offerings of the same. To access information on the WWW, a user typically utilizes a browser program having a graphical interface (such as those offered by such companies as Sun, Microsoft, and Netscape to name a few) to establish an electronic connection between his/her local client computing system, and a remote server system located at an ISP (Internet Service Provider). After such connection is made, the user can then perform a number of operations through the browser, including such tasks as uploading/downloading files (including text, graphics, audio, video, etc.) and even executing programs located on such remote server. The ability to execute programs retrieved from a remote ISP is in fact one of the greater attractions and promises of the WWW. By having a repository which is accessible to millions of users simultaneously, program authors have an opportunity to expand the distribution and use of their products at a level far beyond that previously attainable.
Recently, a type of programming method that has become popular commercially is the use of so-called Java® applets for running programs within conventional web browsers. Java® applets are akin to Java® applications, but the former are specifically designed to interoperate with graphical user interfaces such as the conventional browsers mentioned above. Applets are extremely popular programming methods today also due to the fact that they provide program authors with the tools to create multi-media programs quickly, easily, and with far more capability than conventional HTML based applications. In fact, Java® applets offer a superior interactive experience to the user, allowing users to work fluidly and dynamically with information, and without forcing them to wait continually for web pages to load and re-load.
Despite their many advantages, however, applets have some limitations which so far have prohibited their use on an even greater scale. For instance, for various security reasons, the authors of Java® intentionally constrained applets to operate in what is conventionally known as a "sand box." In other words, applets were imbued with substantial functionality, but they are not permitted, for example, to do such things as read or write from file systems outside their own domain. So, in the case of a remotely downloaded applet embodying some code which the user desires to execute, such applet cannot read or write from computing systems other than the host from which it originated. This significantly restricts the ability of an applet to perform functions that can be performed by more primitive programming techniques, such as HTML. For a general discussion of the basic limitation of applets, please see "An Introduction to Computer Science—Using Java" by Kamin et al., McGraw-Hill (1998).
To get around these restrictions, various prior art techniques have been proposed for permitting applets to access resources outside of their download host, through the use of so-called "proxies." This approach allows applets to behave more like any other conventional HTML based code, so that the user is given additional functionality in an invisible and seamless fashion. An example of such proxies can be found at the following locations on the internet: (1) wwwdotwebreferencedotcom/dev/proxy which contains an article by Kyle Downey entitled "Getting out of the Sandbox: Building an Applet Proxy Server" and (2) wwwdotgamedotcom/experts/java/answers88dothtml by Leihai Xu. The first reference contains a reasonably detailed explanation of how a "Quotron" applet could be implemented so that even if it was downloaded from a particular host server (e.g., domain A) it could still access quote information from a computing system operated by Yahoo! in a manner transparent to the user. A proxy connection is set up in the host server by the applet, which retrieves the quote information on behalf of the applet, thus preventing the applet from violating its access restrictions.
Most destination sites rely on advertising sales (banners, buttons, and text ads) as their main revenue stream, and naturally one goal is to maximize the exposure of ads to the site's audience. The restriction on applets currently makes them undesirable for advertising for a number of reasons. First, they only communicate to their host and thus they do not work well with advertising content that is based at so-called "ad servers" such as those run by such companies as Doubleclick, AdForce, etc., either locally or at a third party server. This is because the advertising content is located at such ad servers, not at the host from which the applet was downloaded. As a general trend, most destination site operators are moving to local and remote third party ad servers, because they are more easy to use, and allow more ad capability. This means that operators of host server systems are caught in a dilemma between providing the most interesting and dynamic computing experience for their users (which are applet based applications), and the need to generate advertising revenue from sponsors (which can only be done with ad servers that are incompatible with applet based applications).
Applets do have some ad content handling capability, but it is limited. To some extent, even certain types of conventional graphical content can cause trouble when used within an applet. Applets are called into conventional web pages, and be floated on top of them as well. The applet can invoke page changes, but there is no way for an applet to refresh an ad without reloading the applet again. To refresh the applet means that a reload and restart of the applet must be done, causing significant delay and frustration to the user. Furthermore, fairness to the advertisers must be considered, as advertisers want to be assured that the audience is actually engaged in viewing the web site and the advertiser's ad. Standard practice is that ads are reviewed with each page view, triggered by the user clicking a link or loading a new page. Unfortunately, some sites have resorted to automatically refreshing an applet (and even HTML based) banner ads at fixed time intervals (on the order of 15 seconds to 1 minute). This approach is unfair to advertisers, because leaving a page open will generate ad impressions, even if no one is using the computer. Thus, the present limitations on applets are being addressed in a fashion that cheats advertisers out of their ad dollars, because impressions are not accurately tallied.
As a result of this technical limitation, applets do not enjoy the kind of advertising exposure capability as conventional HTML coded applications. In other words, every new invoked HTML based page can change and display a new banner ad dynamically. These ad exposures by the user can be measured and used to determine some appropriate compensation from the ad sponsor to the host system operator. In contrast, in a page executing a conventional applet based application, the ad does not change, regardless of how long the applet is running, or how many times it is run. An example of a prior art applet for ads is available at: wwwdotjavasoftdotcom/openstudio/applets /bannerdothtml, under the name "Javabanner." Notably, however, this applet does not use a proxy, and does not know how to handle cookies from an ad server. It simply includes the ads as part of the hard wired parameters for the applet; accordingly, it is not dynamically loaded with ads over time, which is a significant limitation.
Clearly, therefore, there exists a current and pressing need to imbue applets with the capability to display ads in a more flexible and convenient manner that does not require significant delays.
Another related problem associated with advertising with Java applets relates to the fact user "clickthrough" is also not well handled. Click-through describes an action such as when a user clicks on an ad banner and is hyperlinked to a URL associated with the ad. Most ad servers require a click-through URL to "redirect" through the ad server. In other words, the user typically is sent to the ad server with the first request and then is (invisibly to the user) redirected to the payee site. In transit, this click to the ad is counted in the ad server. A recent growing trend seen in the industry is the requirement by ad servers that they download a "cookie" along with the ad, so that after the banner is downloaded, a subsequent click-through is identfied via the cookie. In other words, the user first establishes an identity by downloading the ad banner and its cookie, and that identity (the cookie) is used when the user clicks on the ad, causing a call back to the server for the redirection (and supplying the cookie back to the server). Accurate counting of click-throughs is critical in contemporary internet advertising programs, because many common benchmark tools for evaluating advertising effectiveness, prevalence, etc., are based on such events, and their origin.
Cookies (and of course clickthroughs based on cookies) are especially difficult to handle when using java applets. This is because, even though the applet is embedded in the browser, it does do not have free access to all cookies because of standard industry cookie security restrictions. These restrictions, implemented by most commercial browsers, restrict a particular destination site to read only cookie(s) already created by that site. In other words, one site cannot read another site's cookies.
Thus, in the context of ads downloaded through applets from thir party ad servers, a cookie received via a proxy cannot be "planted" in the browser because the applet itself does not come from the (proxied) web site. Accordingly, many otherwise useful java applet applications are not implemented on a widespread scale due to this limitation.
Therefore, there is another extremely urgent need in the industry for a way to permit applets to properly handle click-through by users on java based advertising banners.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to overcome the aforementioned limitations on the use of conventional internet based advertising mechanisms within Java® applets;
A related object is to implement a system and method for implementing an improved applet that is adapted so that users of the WWW can enjoy the benefit of the capabilities of such applications while still being able to experience and interact with advertising content from a wide variety of advertising sources, and in any variety of forms;
A further related object is to implement a system and method for implementing an improved Java® applet proxy that is customized and configured for handling ad content from a variety of ad servers, so that applet based applications and web pages can be provided with significantly expanded advertising capabilities;
Yet another object is to provide such proxy with intelligent and flexible filtering so that a Java® based applet executing on a client machine can quickly and transparently execute and view ad content that is tailored to be appropriate for such applet; and
Still another object of the present invention is to allow for ad content to be cached at a local server, so that access to appropriate ad material by an applet can be made quickly and without interruption in the event of a disruption in service at a third party ad server;
Another object of the present invention is to provide a proxy that is able to emulate the capabilities of a conventional browser and supportJava applets by caching cookie files as might be needed to present advertising material and coordinate click-throughs in connection with such applets;
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a proxy that is able also to cache client IP addresses as well, so that such information can be passed on to an ad server to glean demographic information;
An additional object of the present invention is to allow internet destination sites to be able to offer the highest quality and most interactive client applications in Java® applet form, while still being able to utilize the services of local and third party ad services in a flexible and revenue optimized fashion;
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that can be used by local and third party ad service providers for enhancing the reach of their advertising content to client systems connected to the WWW.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that can be allows click-throughs by users in connection with Java applet ads to be properly and transparently handled and measured for the benefit of such users, advertisers, and ad services
A related object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that allows an applet and a proxy to coordinate and control browser functions to enable the applet to mimic functionality normally only associated with a full browser, so that content can be delivered and accessed by users under control of the applet/proxy;
A first aspect of the present invention, therefore, which effectuates a number of these objects includes a system and associated method for enabling a java based software applet associated with a destination site to display content (within a browser connected to the internet) from a third party site separate from the destination site. The system includes a proxy software routine executing at the destination site, which includes software code for performing the following operations: to monitor requests from the java based software applet for the content; to make requests for the content from the third party site, where such requests are directed to content that is otherwise not accessible directly by the java based software applet (i.e., outside the java sandbox); and to evaluate content display parameters associated with the content to determine if they are compatible with applet display parameters associated with the java based software applet. In this fashion, the proxy operates to extend access capabilities of the java based software applet to content that is outside of the destination site, such as third party Ad Server sites.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the content consists of an industry standard advertising banner commonly employed for displaying advertising material on the Internet. While the proxy can be implemented in simple form to simply filter incompatible ads (and then ask for a new one instead from an ad Server), it can also be adapted to adjust some ads if necessary to make them fit within a particular applet display environment. Furthermore, user click-throughs on ads within the applet (regardless of whether they originate from a third party ad server) can also be measured if desired. Finally, the proxy can be set to "cache" ads as well in some environments, to accommodate downtime disruptions in the Ad servers. The entire operation is transparent to the user, who experiences the display of the advertising content as if it originated from the download host associated with the applet running in the browser.
A related aspect of the present invention relates to a system, therefore, where a proxy at a server site, and an applet executing within a browser at a client site, cooperate and coordinate together to facilitate content delivery within an applet in a manner that is optimized for the particular client/server pairing. Specifically, the content delivery task can be broken up into separate functions, and the execution of these functions can be distributed across the network so that responsibility is allocated between the client and server system, minimizing the burden on the applet computing resources needed. In one instance, a proxy can control refreshing of an applet, stop delivery of ads through the applet, cache cookies, cache client IP addresses, or perform other administrative tasks to reduce the loading on a client system. Thus, the proxy can act as a common control mechanism where possible to assist in many common applet required tasks.
Other of the objects of the present invention are achieved by a first embodiment of a system for enabling a browser to execute a click-through operation to a third party site requiring a cookie and a URL. This first embodiment of th system enables an Internet capable browser viewing a destination site page to execute a click-through operation to a third party page located as a tag on the destination site page, where the tag is associated with a URL for a third party site of the type which requires a first cookie file associated with (originating from) the third party site. The system comprises an improved java based software applet originating from the destination site and executing within the browser in a first frame. The java based software applet is configured:
The second non-visible tag is usable by the browser for obtaining the URL and a second cookie file related to the first cookie file, so that in response to a click-through operation associated with the first visible tag, the browser can pass the URL and second cookie file to the third party site. Since the second cookie file contains the information needed as a first cookie file by the third party server, this permits a click-through operation to occur from within a java applet to the third party site. In this first embodiment the second frame is downloaded as part of the original HTML page containing the applet, and is made known to the applet directly within the applet code, or as part of the proxy.
In this first embodiment of this second aspect of the invention, the click-through is done in response to ad content presented in the applet, and an ad proxy of the type described above in the first aspect of the invention is used to allow delivery of such content from the third party ad server. While the second cookie file contains at least the first cookie file information needed by the browser to perform the click-through, it may be desirable in some environments to pass on other information to the browser. Thus, the applet can exploit and manipulate the browser indirectly to perform functions normally associated only with a full browser's capabilities.
In a second embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, instead of using a second frame within the browser, the proxy at the server site caches cookies from the ad servers. This embodiment is preferable in environments where it is not possible to guarantee a selection of an ad from an ad server, because the ad server merely provides a random ad call, and not specific and sufficient information to allow the applet-planted cookie to be usable. During a click-through operation, therefore, the proxy (rather than a second planted cookie) supplies the necessary cookie(s) to retrieve the ad selected by the user within the browser. The proxy can also pass on the client IP address, as well, so that the ad server "sees" the correct client demographic information during the click-through, rather than only the IP address of the proxy. It can be seen that in this embodiment, the proxy operates to emulate the browser's capabilities to access and supply resources to and from remote sites.
The present invention thus overcomes the current inability of applets to trigger ad impressions, which, to date, is a significant economic shortcoming inherent in Java® applets. Further, the demand for an ad delivery solution will become even more pressing as Java® applets become more widely available, and as web content moves from static information to an increasingly application-oriented model.
The present invention should find signicant usage in a number of online environments, such as for example, a Java®-based online discussion forum. In these applications it is especially important to maximize ad exposures generated by user action. Financial discussion sites such as Raging Bull and Silicon Investor—and Deja and Remarq, which serve discussions to horizontal markets—have proven that online discussion is a lucrative business, as users click to read each message. Currently, however, in such applications the user in encumbered by continual page redraws and poor information presentation, and a lack of flexibility in the user interface. Similarly, the present invention can be used, for example, to increase the number of ad impressions generated by Java® based stock charting applications, such as found at the applicant's own website at: wwwdotprophetfinancedotcom/prophettalk.
Thus the invention offers a server-side technology that successfully accomplishes the following critical functions within Java® applets:
Through these functions, the invention addresses the needs of all stakeholders in the advertising business model:
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional prior art client-server system operating over a network such as the Internet, in which an applet running with a client browser can only access resources from an authorized download host; and
FIG. 2 is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of a first aspect of the present invention, in which, unlike the prior art system of FIG. 1, an applet running with a client browser can access content from any available location on the WWW;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting the material steps performed by a preferred method of the first aspect of the present invention to allow an applet to receive and process ad content from a wide variety of source materials;
FIG. 4 is an illustration of a conventional prior art client-server system operating over a network such as the Internet, in which an applet running with a client browser does not handle click-throughs on a URL, because the applet does not have access to cookies originating from an Ad Server hosting the ad banner URL; and
FIG. 5a is an illustration of a first embodiment of a second aspect of the present invention in which a client-server system operates over a network such as the Internet, and in which an applet running with a client browser is configured to properly handle click-throughs on a third party Ad Server URL by controlling a second frame within the browser; and
FIG. 5b is an illustration of a second embodiment of a second aspect of the present invention in which a client-server system operates over a network such as the Internet, and in which the server side proxy caches cookies for ads so that they can be used during click-throughs; and
FIG. 6a is a flowchart depicting the material steps performed by a method of a first embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention shown in FIG. 5a to allow an applet to receive and process ad content from a wide variety of source materials;
FIG. 6b is a flowchart depicting the material steps performed by a method of a second embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention shown in FIG. 5b;
Attached hereto also is an appendix of the source code used in the various applet routines described above. These supporting materials are provided to comply with the requirements pertaining to specifications under § 112 of the Patent Act. All rights to the form of the expressions in such materials, including copyrights, are expressly reserved to the assignee of the present invention.
A conventional prior art approach to the use of Java® applets within a web page is depicted in FIG. 1. To facilitate the present discussion, some general definitions for some of the terminology used below is now introduced:
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that this is not intended to be a comprehensive definitive characterization for these terms, but only a rough guideline or template to better understand the important concepts of the present invention. Within a client-server based system 100, a browser 110 linked to the WWW may permit a user to link via a URL 115 to a web page 120. The URL 115 may be specified by the user directly, may be provided as a result of a search engine, another web page, or any other conventional mechanism. Web page 120 is usually but one of many related web pages coded in HTML, Java®, or other conventional browser readable languages and which are available at destination site (the Download Host mentioned above) 150. Within Web Page 120 are found a number of different objects that the user can interact with within browser 110, including graphical images 121 (i.e., JPEG, GIF, TIFF, etc. files) text data 122, advertising display 123 (usually an Ad Banner as referred to above) and applet tag 130. Web page 120 is presented to browser 110 in cooperation with a scripting program 155 (such as PERL) operating at host 150, again using any number of known and conventional techniques. Scripting program 155 is responsible for interpreting and handling user interactions within Web page 120, so that, for example, a user selection of a particular tag or URL within the page will cause the appropriate action or data to be communicated and processed across link 140 (the internet in this case) using a particular protocol (such as HTTP and/or TCP/IP for example).
For example, in the case where a user selects applet tag 130 within Web page 120, scripting program 155 would cause a Java® Applet 132 to be downloaded to the client system through a link 180 (also the internet in this case). From there it would be executed within browser 110 to allow the user to perform some function (i.e. such as a charting of a stock in graphical form or the like) visible in an applet frame 132 along with an advertisement 135 (again, typically an Ad Banner). While it would appear that there is no difference at this point between advertisement 135 running within applet 132, and advertisement 123 running within the webpage 120—in that both are visible to the user within the browser—there are some subtle and important differences.
First, the content of Ad 123 can be provided from any location on the internet, including from a third party Ad Server 160 across a link 170, since Ad 123 is located within a conventional HTML controlled portion of Web Page 120, and does not have any access restrictions. In contrast, Ad 135 operating within applet 132 can only access content located at host 150 across link 180 because of the security restrictions placed on unsecured Java® applets. Thus, the range of materials viewable to a user within an applet are significantly restricted. Correspondingly, an operator of host 150 is deprived of revenue producing opportunities from advertising located in other domains inaccessible to applet 132. Similarly, an operator of Ad Server 160 is unable to provide ad content services to those destination site entities that employ downloadable applets for their users.
Second, the user can, at any time, perform what is known as a "click-through" (by mouse activation for example) to select Ad 123 within the page, and thus be transported by a new link 170 to an appropriate web page located on ad server 160. This is done, for example, by browser 110 closing web page 120, and then opening a new page pointed to by an Ad URL associated with Ad 123 at Ad server 160. Again, in contrast, a click-through on Ad 135 will not re-direct the browser to an Ad Server 160, since it cannot provide a cookie such destination site. This limitation of the prior art is discussed again in more detail below in connection with the second aspect of the present invention which handles click-through activities.
Third, Advertisement 123 can change within the browser frame as the user changes or moves between different web pages 120, 120′ (not shown) etc. This allows host 150 to present a variety of different advertising exposures to the user, and to increase the number of "impressions" made to the user audience. When applet 132 is running within its own frame, however, Ad 135 cannot be changed unless the entire applet is re-loaded and re-executed within browser 110. This latter operation can take quite a bit of time—depending on how fast the Java® virtual machine within the client system operates—and is thus undesirable from a user perspective. It is typically much slower than the time it takes, for example, for the browser to reload a new HTML based web page 120 with a new version of ad 123.
Because it is undesirable to do this, some destination sites operating a host 150 allow an applet 132 to be executed multiple times, or for long periods, without being refreshed with a new applet ad 135. This reduces the problem of making users wait, but is not optimal from an economic perspective because host 150 is only able to exploit a fraction of the percentage of available ad impressions that it would be providing with a non-Java® based frame.
A preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the Applicant's invention is shown in FIG. 2. Except where specifically noted, the components of system 200 identified by the same numerical identifiers as those in system 100 are the same. The primary difference introduced by the Applicant is the use of proxy 158 running on host 150, and an improved applet 132′, which communicates with such proxy as explained below. Proxy 158 is a software routine configured to interact and coordinate between applet 132′, host 150 and Ad Server 160. In this manner, an applet 132′ running in the user's browser 110 can access ad content through a path consisting of link 180 to proxy 158, and link 185 between proxy 158 and Ad Server 160. This proxy 158 is unlike those in described the prior art in that, among other things: (1) it is specially configured to process ad content, which can be considerably more varied and complex than the simple numerical (quote) data used in such systems; (2) rather than being a passive entity with respect to such content, it can filter/tailor/request ad content in a proactive manner to be best suited for the applet in question.
The general operation of proxy 158 and applet 132′ is provided in FIG. 3, and in detail for a particular embodiment in the attached appendix. In particular, as seen in FIG. 3, after an improved applet 132′ has been downloaded and executed, at 305 a request is made by applet 132′ to host 150 for an Ad 135. While it is not necessary until later, it is preferable that proxy 158 have some knowledge of the applet ad parameter limitations at this point. These ad parameters, which include, for example, such specifications as the type of image that can handled, the size of the image, the refresh frequency, and other well-known variables, can be stored in any conventional fashion at host 150 where they can be used for later evaluation.
At step 310 proxy 158 requests and retrieves an ad from Ad Server 160. In this regard it should be noted that ads are typically served up or presented by Ad Server 160 in time on a continuous but random manner from an available pool of banner ads for a particular host. Nonetheless this feature is not critical to the present invention, and that all that is required is that Ad Server 160 have some capability for presenting host 150 with a varying selection of ad content as needed by an improved applet 132′. During step 315 proxy 158 examines the parameters of the ad proposed by the Ad Server 160 to determine if they are compatible with the capabilities of applet 132′. If the ad is otherwise compatible with the applet's capabilities, it is passed on through at step 320, where it is then sent by proxy 158 during step 325 to the applet 132′.
An ad might not be compatible with an applet 132′ for a variety of reasons; for instance, it may require a refresh rate that is too high to be supported by the applet. In some cases, a new ad might be different in size than a prior ad, so that there might be some edging artifact from the old ad left over after the new ad is painted in the screen. Some types of ads are based on so-called "rich media," and these, too, are supportable within a browser 110, but not within an applet 132. These are but examples, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In any event, should the ad not be compatible, an additional step 330 can be performed to determine if proxy 158 has any kind of modification capability—i.e., some additional intelligence for adjusting the ad in some fashion to make it compatible with the applet 132′. If not, then control is returned to step 310, where a request is made to Ad Server 160 for another ad. Again, since it is typically the case that there is a large pool of ads, and that they are served up randomly, it usually does not take long before a suitable ad for the applet is found.
In the event the ad can be modified a modification step 340 adjusts the ad and then passes it on to applet 132.′ As an example, it is conceivable that the visible display space that is to be used by a new ad might be smaller than that of a previous ad; in such case, it would be visually disruptive to permit the edge artifacts of the old ad to remain. To correct this, the new ad might be provided with a white border sufficiently large to frame the new ad and obscure the old border, and then be passed on to applet 132′ at step 325. This type of operation by proxy 158 saves on the administrative overhead required by applet 132 and helps to distribute the task of ad delivery—from a computational perspective—across the client/server link in a more optimal fashion. In other cases, some types of animated ads could have the "animated" features disabled by proxy 158 (if necessary or desirable) to make them supportable within an applet 132′. Other types of quick and simple modifications to ad content to make them compatible with applet capabilities will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the present teachings.
Java® applet 132′ of the present invention is identical in all material respects with a prior art Java® applet 132, except that it is appropriately modified to interact and coordinate with proxy 158. In this regard, it sets up the proxy as the source of all ad content, and it can analyzed so that display parameters/limitations associated with the applet can be passed on so that the proxy 158 can suitably filter and/or adjust ad content. Furthermore, it can request and receive new ad content, either automatically (as a result of a timer expiring within the applet or the proxy) or in response to user action (clickthrough) or inaction (a timeout period).
Another aspect of the present invention performed by ad proxy 158 is the caching of ad content from Ad Server 160, which can be executed as a background task 350. In other words, even without prompting from an applet 132′ an ad proxy 158 can be soliciting and locally storing ad content from the Ad Server 160, so that in the event of a disruption in service in Ad Server 160, or a problem in data link 185, Java® applets 132′ (and even other HTML based ads 123) can be serviced by a set of cached ads at host 150. The size of the cache can be tailored, of course, on a system by system basis, but it is relatively easy and inexpensive to store even 100 different GIF banner impressions so that they are quickly available for viewing by users if desired. In such instance, of course, because Ad Server 160 is not involved in the ad presentation process (and thus cannot track the ads as presented) proxy 158 must also be configured with some kind of accounting facility (which can be done in any number of ways known in the art) to ensure that accurate tracking is made of the impressions transmitted to users. A simple clickthrough counting mechanism, well-known in the art, can be used for such purpose, so that proxy 158 essentially acts as an extension of the Ad Server 160 in situations where this is needed.
Another aspect of the present invention is illustrated generally in step 350, and that is the monitoring/control functionality that can also be provided by proxy 158. For example, the applet may have its own particular refresh capability (to support an ad that needs to be refreshed), but proxy 158 can be configured with specified parameters to trigger a refresh of selected portions of the ad at selected times instead. Thus, the proxy can cooperate in the handling and display of the ad content, and to present it in a way that may be better controlled.
In this way, the functionality of the applet can also be extended considerably, from an ad content delivery perspective, by some simple routines executed at the destination site system instead. Again, this type of "distributed" and cooperative computing across the network helps to better optimize content delivery and the user's overall experience, since task management can be allocated as needed to those computing entities best able at any moment in time to perform a particular processing function.
Similarly, proxy 158 can detect if the applet has been idle for some predetermined period (which can be adjusted based on the nature of the function served by the particular applet) and can terminate additional ad delivery if the user does not appear engaged. In this way, the advertiser is also better protected, because the ads are not being displayed indiscriminately or wastefully—such as a screen with no user sitting in front of it. The destination site would normally take credit for such ad deliveries, even if it is likely that there is no one to see the ads. Thus, the "impression" count achieved by the destination site will be more accurate, since it is more likely that an ad will actually receive exposure if there is some user activity occurring at the client system.
Finally, proxy 158 can also be set up so that it can detect when an ad server 160 is unavailable (either because of excess traffic, or if it has gone down) and thus re-direct the retrieval of ad content from another site. A list of additional fall back sites can be maintained, for example, and prioritized in any manner desired depending on the user's needs. In this way, too, delivery of ad content can be controlled, maintained and safeguarded against service disruptions.
A second aspect of the present inventions is now introduced with regard to FIG. 4, illustrating a client-server based system 100 of the type described earlier for FIG. 1. Again, for the discussion below, like numerals are intended to correspond to the same structures and features discussed above for FIG. 1.
In this depiction of the prior art, however, it can be seen that a typical Ad 123 from a third party Ad Server 160 has an associated Ad Server cookie 124. As explained earlier, when Ad 123 is downloaded within the frame of the browser, this cookie is planted—i.e., placed in a lookup table accessible to the browser 110. When a user selects Ad 123 during a clickthrough operation performed by the user, browser 110 supplies both an Ad URL and a cookie (describing the user's prior profile created by Ad Server 160) to Ad Server 160. At this point Ad Server may perform any number of operations including: (1) measuring the click-through; (2) logging the site from which the click-through was referred (host 150)); (3) correlating the cookie with the particular ad 123 selected; (4) redirecting the user's browser 110 to an Ad site 190, where the user can access additional content directly from an vendor/service provider. These are but some of the conventional operations currently performed by third party Ad Servers 160, and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. The key point is that the use of cookies 124 permits Ad Server 160 to identify and correlate the user's activities in a manner not possible without such files.
Thus, the situation with an ad 135 downloaded within applet 132 is dramatically different. Because of cookie restrictions, applet 132, having originated from host 150, is unable to plant a cookie 136 within browser 110. Furthermore, because of Java sandbox restrictions, applet 132 cannot read a cookie from a browser lookup table, even if one could be found for Ad Server 160. Thus, there is no current mechanism available for passing on a cookie 136 to an Ad Server 160 as part of a user clickthrough on Ad 135.
A first embodiment of a second aspect of the present invention remedies this limitation through the system illustrated in FIG. 5a. Again, except where specifically noted, the components of system 500 identified by the same numerical identifiers as those in system 100 are the same. The primary difference introduced by the Applicant is the use of proxy 558 running on host 550, and an improved applet 532′, which communicate with each other to build an additional frame 537 readable by browser 510, and in which frame a substitute or proxy cookie 536′ can be planted so as to be read by browser 110. Thus, in this embodiment, proxy 558 is also used for the benefits and advantages noted earlier.
The present scheme is best illustrated with reference to the flow diagram provided in FIG. 6a. When an ad 535 is obtained by proxy 558 at step 605, a cookie 536 associated with Ad Server 560 is also passed along as well. Ad 535 is downloaded to applet 532′ at step 610, but cookie 536 is not planted at this time, since it would be of no practical use within the applet. Instead, at step 615, a cookie 536′ for Ad Server 560 is cached by browser 510 at the same time that ad 535 is presented within applet 532. In particular, applet 532′ is coded so that it controls a second, hidden frame 537 in page 520, which frame is originally coded as part of page 520. Each downloaded ad 535 is also "shown" in form 535′ in this hidden frame 537 so that any cookies 536 from ad 535 are captured by browser 510 in the form of cookies 536′. Hidden frame 537 can be configured using conventional HTML coding so as to not be seen/perceived by the user, or to interfere with the user's perception of original page 520.
At step 620 when a click-through is requested by the user for Ad 635 within applet 532′, browser 510 associates such request with a cookie 536′ and retrieves it at step 625. At step 630 this substitute cookie 536′, and an Ad URL for the ad, are passed on to Ad Server 560, where the final actual ad might be retrieved by a re-direction operation from ad server 560 from yet another ad site 590. In conventional operation, browser 510 maintains all cookies in a central, accessible location where the substitute cookie 536′ is also stored. Therefore, from the perspective of Ad Server 560, and from the user's perspective, the invention works seamlessly to present an experience and functionality that is no different than the non-java based ad treatment described above.
It should be noted that in this preferred approach, cookies 536′ are identical to cookies 536, and are completely usable by browser 510 in exactly the same way as it would normally do to pass on information during a click-through operation to Ad Server 560. It is apparent nonetheless that since ads can be passed through and filtered at proxy 558, additional information could be coded (if desired) and planted as part of cookie 536′. Moreover, while the present invention is described in the context of controlling a hidden frame within the browser for caching cookies, other frames might be generated and used for extending the reach of applets and proxies through the browser's functionality. For example, other applets in hidden frame 537 could be controlled by applet 532. Or, a web tour for the user could be implemented by clicking on the controlling applet to make a different website appear for viewing, by making the contents of hidden frame 537 become visible to the user.
A second embodiment of a second aspect of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5b. Again, except where specifically noted, the components identified by the same numerical identifiers in this embodiment are the same as those shown in the first embodiment discussed above. The primary difference introduced here is the fact that, in some cases, an ad server 560 will not provide sufficient detail for the planted cookie to be of any use in a subsequent click-through. This information varies from ad server to ad server, and thus, is not always predictable. Accordingly, it may be desirable or necessary to supplement the first embodiment above with the capabilities described now with respect to this second embodiment.
In this second embodiment, proxy 558 running on host 550 includes capabilities for directly caching cookies 536 in a cookie/link cache lookup table 556. During a normal ad retrieval operation, therefore, proxy 558 compiles a complete set of appropriate links and calls and stores them in table 556 to ensure that a later click-through of the ad presented within the applet can be satisfied by finding the exact banner match for such ad across link 571.
This second embodiment is best illustrated with reference to the flow diagram provided in FIG. 6b. When an ad 535 is obtained by proxy 558 at step 605, a cookie 136 associated with Ad Server 560 is also cached as well in cookie/link table 556, which is indexed according to an ad number. As before, Ad 535 is downloaded to applet 532′ at step 610, but cookie 536 is not planted at this time, since it would be of no practical use within the applet. At step 620 when a click-through is requested by the user for Ad 535 within applet 532′, proxy 558 detects the request, and retrieves cookie 536′ based on an ad number and retrieves it at step 325. At step 330 this substitute cookie 536′ (and other pertinent link information) is used by proxy 558 in a series of operations to retrieve the corresponding ad from Ad Server 560. Thus, the intelligent proxy retrieves the relevant cookie and link information from a host side database 556, and uses the same to help the browser open the correct URL associated with the ad, which may be a page at Ad Server 560 or a third host site 590. From the perspective of the web user, proxy 558 acts to seamlessly duplicate this operation of a conventional browser, by storing ad cookies in a local cached database, except that a java based ad is now supportable where it was not possible before.
Another aspect of proxy 558 is that host side database 556 can also be configured to store an IP address for a client, in order to glean useful demographics information for those ad servers that want to utilize the same. In other words, during a normal click-through, an ad server 560 identifies where browser 510 is located via an IP address supplied by the browser. This information is used to estimate and/or predict other demographics information about the user, such as his/her likely geographic location, sex, income, age, etc., and other details that can be correlated with such IP address. The IP address is provided as part of any normal HTTP call between host 550 and ad server 560 (it is part of the TCP/IP layer underneath the HTTP call) so normally the ad server would only see the proxy IP address for any applet based ad click-through as described above. To rectify this situation, the proxy can also store/cache (or independently generate) client IP address data, and thus add a client ID parameter along with the click-through URL so that (for those ad servers so adapted to see or listen to such client ID parameter info) such client demographics can be gleaned as would occur, again, in a normal HTML based ad click-through.
While the present invention is described in the context of caching cookie information for the browser, or client IP address information, other information might be generated and stored instead to emulate the capability of the user's browser.
Through the provision of these capabilities, the invention thus satisfies the needs of all the relevant entities involved in online advertising: (1) users, who are given the best type of application capability and the widest variety of advertising content; (2) destination sites publishers) who can now better capitalize and quantify advertising impression activity by users for the benefit of advertisers; (3) advertisers, who are given an opportunity to spread content out on a more widespread basis to computing applications previously unavailable to them, and who are also now given an additional level of assurance that ad presentation statistics are more accurately measured; (4) advertising networks, who can now take advantage as well of the innovative ad delivery system to increase their connections to advertisers and destination sites.
It will be apparent to those in the art that proxy 558 is easily configured as a globally running process on host 550 so that it can be set up to handle a number of simultaneous requests from a number of distinct and uniquely running applets 532′ distributed at any moment in time across the Internet. Furthermore, the collaboration and cooperation in computing functions, and distribution/allocations of tasks performed by proxy 558 and applet 532′ can be specified on a connection by connection basis, so that, for example, some applets executing in high end client machines might receive a lot of assistance from proxy 558, while others would not require the same. The decision of how the task management of ad delivery is distributed across the network can be made on the basis of available computing resources at the client/server sides, available bandwidth, delays, etc., using any reasonable selection and optimization methodology implementable at host 550.
Finally, while Ad 535 is presented as a typical visual banner ad, it is possible that other types of multi-media information will be used by an applet, such as sound, video, etc. The invention is not limited to any particular implementation of ad content in this regard.
From a high level perspective, it can further seen that the present invention can be used to deliver ad content into a Java® applet that is executing on a typical desktop computer, laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an enhanced cell phone, or any other system including a mechanism for executing Java® applets. The coordination and allocation of tasks between the applet and the proxy ensures smooth and accurate delivery of ad content to any number of platforms. The microcode and software routines executed here may be embodied in various forms of course, including in a permanent magnetic media, a non-volatile ROM, a CD-ROM, or any other suitable machine-readable format.
The above descriptions are intended as merely illustrative embodiments of the proposed inventions. It is understood that the protection afforded the present invention also comprehends and extends to embodiments different from those above, but which fall within the scope of the present claims.


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DevOpsDays Sydney 2016 took place recently in the Sydney SMC Function Centre, by Goulburn Street. The halls were named after Greek columns. Ionic, Doric, Tuscan. Pillars. Many of us from REA were in attendance, along with leading practitioners from around the country. Continue reading
Author Archives: John Contad
And so we tried to build the Census Platform.
REA runs a plethora of special interest guilds that anybody can join. These guilds get together every now and then to trade smarts, share stories, or just to talk about new, shiny tech.
One of these guilds is the Ops Guild – which over time, has morphed into a challenge/gauntlet where everyone with an interest in Operations can get together and sharpen their Ops skills. We run troubleshooting dojos, breakfix scenarios, and a couple of games – and given recent events, we felt the need to be relevant…

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The internet over the years has become the fountainhead of knowledge on any subject in the world. Whatever be the field you are engaged in you can find something of interest in a website that will be of use to you. Students, scholars, scientific researchers, engineers, and technologists, seekers of entertainment like music, cinema sports etc; can find what they want and download it for enjoyment. With internet space getting crowded and many unsavory features operating in it downloading of what you want may be frustrating some times. This may be the result because of many factors. The chief among them being is the slow speed in downloading. Ares Galaxy Acceleration Tool is software that has been developed to get over this problem.
The problem of downloading is not limited to the slow speed. Sometimes the downloading may be getting you wrong matter or it may come in a distorted manner. Many fake files also get downloaded. People used to be in a quandary as to how to solve this problem. Ares Galaxy Accelerator tool is an innovative feature introduced in software market. It works for Ares P2P. It is able to increase the speed of downloading from sources which are very slow. This is achieved by a unique optimization algorithm.
Getting wrong files and fake files is also a source of great discomfort for people. Preventing this mal-operation and getting the files you want or other matter can be made possible by incorporating Ares Galaxy Tool. You get a system of downloading which remains stable all time that at the same time consumes very little resources. Downloads sometimes are from multi sources and all of them may be required at the same time. Clarity, correctness and speed of downloading are all matters of vital importance especially if they have to be used in application of something important.
Using Ares Galaxy is quite simple and straightforward as far as the user is concerned. The software with many features is however, designed mainly for supporting multisource downloads in the Ares site. Slow sources are plenty and this software comes in handy in addressing such situations. The entire operation is automatic and user friendly. It is of very sophisticated nature and continues to operate without stop automatically without having to be activated manually by the user. Such sophisticated software, it is very simple to use to everybody.
Downloading material data from internet is fraught with many risks in present day conditions. Like in any other sphere of life rogue elements have gained access to the internet system to cash in on other people's hard work. They release what is known as spyware, Trojan etc: which sneak into your system along with other downloads. They may transmit vital information stored in the system for wrong use. In such a scenario when you install Ares Galaxy Acceleration Tool, your system becomes clean and protects it from invasion of other damaging software. To find that you get such important and valuable software free is something special indeed.


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Promenade Health Club & Spa opening April 2012 (The Hague)
The Promenade Health Club & Spa is to be a world in itself. Stunning designs lead you to our state-of-the- art gym, jet-pool, treatment suites, health bar and lounge, changing rooms and relax areas. Treatments are drawn from celebrated wellbeing traditions across the world.
With lavishly appointed treatment suites, a full fitness facility and a complete menu of spa services, the Promenade Health Club & Spa is like an escape spa resort and offers the ultimate in decadent relaxation. Highly trained therapists and personal trainers are committed to providing exceptional personalized care to ensure each guest a blissful spa or work out experience.
Our second to none Protected content meter health club & spa showcases a wide range of massages, physiotherapy, hammam suite, facials and body treatments and fully equipped hair salon, all designed especially for you.
In addition, our world-class gym and training area is supervised by qualified personal trainers, offers a full range of Technogym aerobic and strenght equipment, Concept II rower, a range of free weights, a Vibrogym and an exercise studio. We offer classes daily, including Pilates, spinning, circuits and yoga.
The Promenade Health Club & Spa has a complete range of features designed for your relaxation and rejuvenation. Enhance your experience with us by booking one of our tailor made treatments or invigorate your body and mind by visiting our pool, saunas and steam room.
The Promenade Health Club & Spa offers a limited number of exclusive memberships. Use of our facilities and services can therefore also be enjoyed by non-resident guests.
Pre-registration starts now!
Call or stop by het hotel reception:
Crowne Plaza Promenade Hotel
Van Stolkweg 1 Den Haag-Scheveningen
T; Protected content
E: Protected content


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Indian Super League: Delhi Dynamos F.C. sign Mohun Bagan duo Souvik Chakraborty and Kean Lewis
Delhi Dynamos F.C. have renewed their contract with midfielder Souvik Chakraborty for coming season of the Hero Indian Super League. Alongside they have also signed his Bagan teammate Kean Lewis. With these two signings, Delhi Dynamos have ensured that their midfield is well taken care of.
With Mohun Bagan Souvik won the I-League in 2015, and the Federation Cup in 2016. He has been a force to reckon with in the midfield with his brand of zany energy and athleticism. Souvik is widely regarded as an extremely hardworking player, and his high work rate per match is proof of that. He has played with Delhi Dynamos for two consecutive seasons of the ISL, and under the tutelage of greats like Alessandro del Piero and Roberto Carlos he has evolved into a more creative player with the ability to press high up the field when needed.
Mr. Shakti Chauhan, Assistant Coach, Delhi Dynamos F.C. said, "We are very pleased to continue our association with Souvik. Even at such a young age he is one of the best performing Indian Seniors and an indispensable part of the DDFC squad. We look forward to seeing him shine this season like he did in the previous two."
Joining Souvik in DDFC is his Mohun Bagan midfield partner Kean Lewis. Lewis has burst onto the Indian Football scene like a force of energy. Born in Patlipada, Maharashtra Lewis was invited to Leicester City at the age of 14. The TATA Football academy graduate moved to the United States in 2010, where he played for the under-23 side of the Houston Dynamos. Since signing with Mohun Bagan in July 2015, Lewis has managed to impress football fans and critics alike. This will be his first ISL experience and Kean is keen to excel.
Also read: I-League: John Johnson signs two-year deal with Bengaluru FC
Kean Lewis expressed his gratitude by stating, "I am glad to join the Delhi Dynamos ranks and I would like to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to showcase my skills in ISL 3. I am hoping for a lot of support from the club and the fans."
Souvik is thrilled about Kean's signing, and said, "Kean has shown a lot of promise. He and I share a great relationship on the pitch, I am comfortable playing alongside him and I am hopeful that this comfort will help us succeed and help DDFC perform well in ISL 3."
Delhi Dynamos F.C. Chief Technical Officer, Vishnu Madhu is very upbeat about bringing this dynamic duo to Delhi, "We had to move very fast to pick Kean and Souvik up, they were always on our priority list and we are happy that we managed to sign them. We are hopeful that they will have a terrific season and win the hearts of all Dynamos fans."


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By John LeBoutillier |
Friday, 10 October 2008 10:16 AM
Yesterday at a McCain-Palin rally in Waukesha, Wis., someone asked McCain, "Many of us in this crowd are furious . . . we're wondering how did we get here . . . how can a man like Barack Obama be on the verge of being elected president?" Here is the answer to that question: If the Bush administration had been competent and honest, Obama and his problems with ACORN, the Rev. Wright, and Bill Ayers would never have been given a chance politically.
In 1999 and 2000, the Bush political operation seized control of the Republican Party and bought off the conservative movement. They put up George W. Bush as the new "savior" — the "son of Reagan" they called him. They orchestrated that spectacle with every local politician from all over the country traipsing down to Austin to "beg" Gov. Bush to run for president, and he was elected as the new conservative hero.
But his presidency has been anything but conservative. In fact, it has been the most incompetent, dishonest, and un-conservative administration ever.
Just look at these few items which, if done by a Democrat, would have brought calls from us on the right not only to impeach him, but to imprison him for life:
So, to my fellow conservative in Waukesha — and everywhere — you wonder why are we here, with a lefty like Barack Obama on the verge of becoming president? The answer is that you helped the nation to choose, quite reluctantly, the opposite-of-Bush candidate: Barack Obama.
The voters can't stand the thought of another four years like the past eight, so they will roll the dice, despite Ayers and Rev. Wright and ACORN, and try something different.
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D.J. Waldie's June 18 commentary, "Crash of Symbols, and Then Nothing," was inspired. The controversy surrounding the tiny cross on the Los Angeles County seal is really about intolerance. This tiny cross does nothing to establish religion. The cross memorializes our Spanish heritage and the brave Christian missionaries who, under the direction of Padre Junipero Serra and Padre Fermin Lausen, established 21 missions stretching from San Diego to San Francisco.
The effort to remove the cross is part of a nationwide campaign by the American Civil Liberties Union to remove any vestige of Christian symbolism from the public arena. Christianity is inextricably woven into our history, culture and values. This campaign is, at heart, little more than a demonstration of the ACLU's anti-Christian bigotry.
Nathan Post
Santa Barbara


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Microsoft has this policy wherein if indie developers want to release their games on the Xbox One, they would need to launch it alongside other platforms.
This title is misleading.
This is what they meant: Simultaneously shipping is very challenging, especially for small indie teams.
Yeah, "brutal" was in reference to the work required to release simultaneously.
Also, they said the parity clause *might* stop them releasing. Article has been spun from understandable and frank talk from an indie to flame-bait
Thanks guys...just saved me from the click bait :)
Yeah Gamingbolt is pretty infamous for trying to create flamebait. I rarely read their crap now. Inevitably the main guy who does the dev interviews will try and get the dev to say something derogatory about MS policy or try to pin them into some kind of comparison of power BS. His "agenda" is so clear its comical.
those guys are hungry for clicks they will never give up.. those titles make no sense at all i wonder if he reads what he writes.
How dare you gamingbolt try too make good'ol Microsoft look bad like that! Shame on you guys.... Shame! It's not as horrible as the title sounds people, it's just a shitty time parity clause....
The quote: "Well, as a small developer working to release our first game, it's [the policy] rather brutal. Simultaneously shipping is very challenging, especially for small indie teams. The clause (if enforced) means it might not be possible for us to release on Xbox One, even though we wanted to."
The PARITY POLICY is "brutal". Simultaneous shipping is "very challenging". The title of the article is not misleading. Let's paraphrase: "The fact that MS has a release parity policy is 'brutal' because it makes compliance with it too "challenging" for smaller developers." This is one of the reasons that MS is losing indie games to the Sony. Indies want to develop for the platform that allows the most freedom and that is the PS platform. MS does get exclusives, but they pay for them.
Well as a developer you have an option to choose your platform as well. If you can't develop for both, you can choose Xbox One over PS4, but if you choose PS4, you might loose the ability to release on Xbox One.
In short you have an option. You just can't have your cake and eat it too!
Actually you can have your cake and eat it too. If you have a signed exclusivity agreement with Sony to launch on their system first, you can release your game on Xbox whenever you want. If Sony has no parity clause you can release on Xbox One first and then on Playstation whenever you want too. Microsoft is looking out for their customers and trying to get as much content as possible and at the same time as Sony or sooner. The policy is only horrible for Playstation gamers that cry unfair when Microsoft gets something first. When Sony does it, they are all about the gamer.
This policy is not about looking out for their customers, it's to try and prevent the competition from getting more games than the Xbox.
But with the xb1 trailing so far behind the ps4 this policy will reduce the number of games that make it to the xb1. A lot of the small developers will just opt to go with the bigger market share.
Wow did you guys need to twist the words just to defend your favorite console?
"This policy is not about looking out for their customers, it's to try and prevent the competition from getting more games than the Xbox."
Microsoft wants all games released at the same time on their system. If a game can't be released on multiple systems, they would like the games released on their system first. If a developer has an exclusivity deal with a competitor, Microsoft will nullify the parity agreement and a dev can release on the competative platform first.
No where in the agreement does Microsoft request games not be released on a competitive platform. No where in the agreement does it state a game released on a competitive platform with an exclusivity agreement can't be released on the Xbox.
Microsoft is putting their customers needs ahead of the competitions. How entitled do you have to be in order to feel Microsoft should place the needs of Playstation fans above their own customers?
I understand why you feel like that.... however I disagree at a core level.
Look, the fact that the clause exists is not good for the consumer. More games the merrier.
now, While being more games, don't be a crappy consumer: watch gameplay on YouTube, twitch, the like and choose off of your OBSERVATIONS.
Curating and sifting through the plethora of games coming out is more important... especially when you take into accord people who have different tastes and opinions on games they love.
Example: I love, LOVE towerfall ascension, but my friend HATES it!
For those of you who see nothing wrong with this "console parity clause," why does Microsoft have such a policy in the first place? This clause doesn't benefit gamers. It certainly doesn't benefit small development companies. How does this policy benefit anyone other than Microsoft?
***Microsoft is putting their customers needs ahead of the competitions. How entitled do you have to be in order to feel Microsoft should place the needs of Playstation fans above their own customers?***
Don't urinate on me and tell me it's raining.
The only reason MS does this is to force the hands of developers. It has nothing to do about being for their customers and all about making their product look better by forcing small development teams who most often can't afford to release on multiple platforms at once to release on their platform.
Here's my blog when they announced the [email protected] parity clause: http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
That explains why it's smart business, but that doesn't make it anything but business and it sure as heck doesn't mean they did it for the customers. This is all about money, pure and simple.
You're right. The developer didn't say the parity clause was brutal.
This is an a purposefully misleading title and should never have been approved in its current state.
Edit: @Gambie20 - You might be right. We don't know if the developer is saying the clause is brutal or the development is brutal and the clause isn't helping. There's no context.
The title isn't necessarily misleading. If the developer is stating that a simultaneous release is brutal than Microsofts policy of requiring indies to have a simultaneous release is brutal. That being said, I do think the initial connotation one could have from the headline is more negative than deserved.
I was in the process of reporting it for Bad Editing when it got approved.
It absolutely flew through approvals.
In the approval especially for certain sites you see repeatedly that lives off this site, they have a coalition or partners if you may that send each other their stories for approval.
That is why some of the stories flies right through as soon as it hits the submissions process.
They have limited resources and they only have a choice in the beginning on which platform to ship on.
They chose PS4 for the higher userbase or the approach to indies Sony currently has but it is not stated.
"Well, as a small developer working to release our first game, it's [the policy] rather brutal. Simultaneously shipping is very challenging, especially for small indie teams. The clause (if enforced) means it might not be possible for us to release on Xbox One, even though we wanted to."
Not sure how this is misleading.
misleading because you edited the article after I posted.
Flame title.
Rashid's pretty biased, he always creates sensational headlines such as these to get the fanboys goin.
Rashid needs to come out of that fanboy closet already.
OT: Indie teams come in different sizes some are rather large while others are pretty small. PlayStation has the bigger install base so it only makes sense for a small team to develop and release on the more popular console first.
I'm not sure you know what bias means , because the guy posts flame bait about the xbone and ps4, to be bias you have to show a clear preference to something. I think the only clear preference gaming bolt shows is a preference to get clicks by making articles like this.
Do these small studios really need or want this kind of attention just to promote their game? Attention whores much! I blame the studio and the so called "gaming journalist" that made this article, simply looking for clicks.
Parity clause is rarely applied. Just ask Microsoft if you can launch your game later on and you will get your response. Many 3rd party PS4 games have been launched later on the X1.
The parity clause no longer exsists.
see warframe, minecraft etc
That's not true. They may have relaxed it in some situations, but it still exists. In fact, I think they even said they would review it on a case by case basis.
Pinball Arcade Season 2 is being held back from Playstation 4 because of it. And the reason it hasn't come out on Xbox is because MS made them get a publisher, which then went bankrupt, so Farsight was stuck with a publisher no longer in business but still tied to them. Unable get a new publisher, MS wouldn't let them release new updates. Now after all this time, the problem has been resolved, Xbox 360 and One will finally be updated, but PS4 won't get season 2 tables until about a month after Xbox.
"However there have been a few exceptions to this case in the past but the policy is no doubt a deal breaker for smaller independent developers."
No, it exists. MS is just allowed to ignore it whenever they want but enforce it on the developers all other times.
These people should be banned from the internet for outright lying.
Well, what is REALLY "Brutal" is that because of policies like these (and others) the Xbone has HALF the game library of the competition!
I don't understand how MS hasn't gotten rid of this parity clause yet
They very likely will. They're losing games, which only makes PlayStation 4 look better by having more.
Phil said he's in this to win, so I'm sure they'll cave sooner than later.
What does removal of the parity clause fix? If a game hits either platform first, sales on the competitions console fall pretty hard. It's in a developers best interest to release at the same time on as many platforms as possible if they want to maximize their sales.
By Microsoft not working to get games released at the same time as Playstation, who does that benefit other than Playstation gamers?
It's always fascinating to see Playstation gamers try to "fix" Microsofts problems while turning a blind eye to the issues Sony has. It wasn't long ago when Playstation fans said they would never pay to play online and if Microsoft stopped this evil practice more people would buy an Xbox. Exclusive partnerships with third parties are the worst thing to hit gaming unless Sony does it, then they are looking out for the gamers. Charging an annual subscription to have access to a library of games is greedy, unless it is PS+ which is a great value to gamers and if you don't feel the same way you are clearly wrong. The list goes on.
I completely disagree. Just check Mass Effect sales or Metal Gear sales. People who want the game will buy said game till it gets released on their console.
If Microsoft truly wanted games to be released simultaneously on both consoles, they would be doing the same things that Sony is doing; Answering developers questions, lowering the price of devkits, providing technical assistance, working with small development teams to help them get games ready to be released. Sony isn't limiting developers options, in fact, Sony is actually trying to give these "indie" developers more options. Whether or not a game is released at the same time on both consoles is solely in the hands of Microsoft simply because Sony has no "parity clause."
No all indies are AAA... so, while the best comes to xone, its ok for me, but, surely xone is missing some
Yup, its costing them money and games. The stupid parity clause can be broken if a developer has an exclusivity clause with another platform. So basically devs, before signing with MS, shoot SONY an email and loophole the entire process by asking them for exclusivity.
You're over generalizing there quite a bit about gamers and fixing problems. That works both ways: Xbox gamers once said game installs and mandating hard drives were fouls on Sony's part, both of which are now okay.
You say games need to release at the same time to maximize sales. While that's a fair assumption, there are titles that still do fairly good numbers without a dual release like Tales of Vesperia and BioShock. I don't get how you say that only PlayStation gamers benefit when Xbox gamers STILL get the game. In light of this parity clause, you don't seem to be against a contrary scenario where Xbox gamers get it first. Failure to remove parity strictures means that, while PlayStation gamers get it first and Xbox gamers don't get it at all, it also means Xbox gamers get it and PlayStation gamers may get it eventually. Remind me how that's fair to Xbox gamers, because I don't see the logic.
I wouldn't waste my time. This Death guy just seems bent that in this day and age with a more educated consumer, and virtual free flow if information to the masses through the internet, his console of choice is getting torn to shreds weekly because of poor policies and implementation of ideas that handcuff developers and even consumers to now to MS's will and rules because if you don't you get nothing. Everything they want has to be done through their paywalls and has to be put out on their console first or not at all. I realized that early last gen and ditched all my 360 stuff on eBay.
Also, by Deaths logic how does he feel about the Tomb Raider deal? How does he feel about MS taking that game away from PS gamers? According to him games should be released on multiple consoles to Maximize Profits and MS is just trying heir best to make sure that happens right?
ya wish MS would change this
title is very clickbaity though.
Why does Microsoft care if one console version gets released before another. Do they think an indie game sells the console?
It's because last gen, when they had the industry by the balls - they could get away with this. It meant that either a game only came out on 360, or the very least that it was the lead platform. That meant it'd be the best performing version of the game, or atleast as solid as the other ports of said game.
They are trying to continue this, but they've clearly lost that grip they had now, and with PS4's in homes outnumbering X1s by so much, and the tables turning with PS4 being a bit easier to program for and more powerful - it's not working anymore. The higher ups over there are just taking a while to understand this. They will make exceptions whenever a game sells amazingly on another platform though, and allow it to come to theirs. Eventually, they'll have to completely cut this parity rule out though - or things will just continue to get worse for them.
MS never had the industry by the balls...they were leading in sales before the PS3 launched...thats about it. they've mistaken the slight popularity boost from Xbox to 360 as a sign that they are the standard. But, both consoles launch simultaneously, and look what happens.. they have nothing by the balls and likely never will.
Microsoft working to get games released on the Xbox at the same time as Playstation is hardly "having the industry by the balls". Both Microsoft and Sony are allowing indie titles to bypass traditional publishing procedures and fee's. Asking an indie to release on both consoles at the same time unless an exclusivity agreement is in place is hardly unreasonable. The only ones unhappy are the Playstation fans that feel they should have everything since they are the choose few.
Now, that was horrible. That whole statement is just you whining. Also, wouldnt it Xbox fans who should be complaining because of the severe lack of games compared to the PS4?
Because it does matter. Just like some people prefer the ps4 for having stronger hardware. It's all about what you like. There is something about each console that will make you buy it. For some (not me) it's getting some games before others.
The Parity Clause is one of the last major 180's Microsoft needs to do. I don't know what they're waiting for.
theres one more thing, allowing cross platform play.
maybe not for every game but for some mmos for sure.
they're missing out on FF14 and SE has said thats the only thing holding them back from making an xbox one version.
Has there been any game officially reported that has been turned down due to the parity clause? So far all we see from these articles is MS "might" turn down our game. But so far I haven't read one article that said MS DID turn down our game because we released first on PS4.
I also keep reading that MS looks the other way on most cases when a dev wanted to release on the Xbox after releasing for the PS4.
Just asking because this seems to come up a lot. Anyone have any links?
This clause just seems to be in place to give MS a right to refuses service for any reason.
It's not that long into this current gen of consoles and these indie games are just being completed for PS4 after the initial PC release.
Let's see how MS handle the situation when indie devs want to bring their games to Xbone after PS4 version.
It could be the turning point for MS or send them further down the rabbit hole if MS decides to reject the games due to the parity clause they have.
I just don't think MS has any authority now on what does and does not come to Xbone if they want it to be successful.
The only thing MS has over the competition is money and that won't buy customer loyalty and trust.
They already have my loyalty. My 360 experience has been most excellent, as well as my customer service experience. I look forward to getting a One in Jan., until then I'll keep playing my awesome 360.
I doubt you've "kept" reading that. More likely, you've read it a few times on a handful of games that were just to popular for MS to say no.
It's not "might" turn it down. The clause itself turns them down by design.
As usual you follow me around on N4G and prance around any questions I ask on a subject with no real answers.
What game has MS turned down due to the parity clause? You and other Sony fanyboys love to wave that "parity" clause around and even used it as an excuse for a PS3 version of a game that you all thought was gimped. But there has been no evidence of MS turning down any game due to the clause.
All we ever get are articles of small devs being afraid that MS "might" turn down their game. But we have also had articles of MS working with devs who actually reached out to MS and got their game on Xbox with no problem.
If you want to reply to me try answers that actually make sense and ... I don't know...actually answer the question.
ms needs to ditch the parity clause. i really enjoy the x1 but it doesn't have the best rep right now, and this certainly doesn't help on any level. if they want to show indie dev's love, they could be a lot more flexible on this.
gamingbolt at it again, ban those clown from N4G for real now... i'm tired of their mediocre flame clickbait articles
Personally I think it kind of cool , it keeps developers from using the console owner like back up cash by simply trying to entice with the game a few months or year later with some kind of BS content Wichita then they will turn around and sell to those that got the game first. Say be equal or take a leap indie developers.
Then MS will lose out in the long run. They don't have the hold over indie or AAA devs like they had last gen.
Also indie developers don't have the cash flow that most AAA developers have so they can only develop for one platform at a time.
Indie devs will choose PS4 every single time if they had to choose only one console platform.
Most indie games are already on PC or coming to it anyway due to the low cost of self-publishing their own games on the platform.
its pretty funny that the clicks come mostly from sony fanboys that need the assurance they made the "right" choice. So the sites keep digging to make the same type of article to feed the trolls....so the trolls are feeding themselves......someone get christopher nolan on the phone now!
Misleading title, the developer doesn't ever say "the parity clause is brutal". They're simply focusing on one platform at a time since Microsoft requires devs to release the XBox One version day and date with the PS4 version. And that's pretty tough to do.
another fine job by the MS overlords ... how many more wrecks before we all finally confirm in unity the X1 was DOA?
I think Indies should stop whining. If you don't have a big enough team to create a game on two platforms that does not bode well for long term support of your game.
Embarassingly ignorant comment on game development and indies.
No its not... It is completely unprofessional and counterproductive to take a business related dispute public.
Also, with a team that small, what if there are major bugs in the game they release? Would it be acceptable for them to say, "We don't have the resources to fix it" after people pay money to buy their game.
To every business venture there is a get in cost to make it happen. Quite simply if they can't afford the get in cost they should either go find the money or skip the idea.
I have bought thousands of games throughout my life. The thing that irks me most is when I own a game, go to play it and the developer has abandoned the game and it no longer works properly. To me, as a consumer that is unacceptable.
Without indies and new blood developers trying out dif ideas you would not have those thousands of games you have purchased in your lifetime. To make the statement you made above shows complete ignorance towards the talented ppl that build all these games you play. Give your head a shake.
I never said anything about the value that Indies add to gaming. Your comments are unrelated to my position on an Indie trash talking a console vendor for their business terms.
There is a cost to make video games for all consoles you want to ship on. This Indie is slagging MS because they are unwilling/unable to acquire the necessary capital funding to do what they want to do. Why is that an MS issue?
It is like me going to start up a new restaurant chain where I have chosen two specific locations. If I don't have the capital funding to build both restaurants I have to accept that if I wait and go to the second location later it may already have been sold or leased to someone else. Indies are no different. If they can't afford to build on both consoles, they have to accept that the second console vendor may say no to them coming to their console. That is what's known as a "business decision".
@the XBros saying "misleading" ...
quote from indie dev "it's [the policy] rather brutal. "
If reading is fundamental then maybe you should try it. Your comment of X1 is DOA is clearly that of someone who is uninformed. The X1 is selling faster than the X360 ever did even without launching is several countries. It isn't the MS install base the PS4 has taken from last generation, its Nintendo's. X1 will also be more profitable as for several years they lost money on the 360 largely due to RRoD. The X1 will break even by years end. Indie developers also have a choice, not to launch simultaneously and focus on the platform of their choice. So in the end, brutal or not as MS has already proven, if the game is expected to be popular MS will waive the clause. You're right, Reading is Fundamental, then again so is comprehension.
As for Indie games I could care less about them on a console, they are often out a year ahead on the PC anyway and thats where I do the majority of my gaming.


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