Ninety-nine percent of the time it's neither entertaining nor informative and, as advertisers demand a return on their investment in online ad-spend, the ads are becoming increasingly intrusive.

First there were banners. Then came the big display-size banners. Still searching for results, advertisers turned to those awful pop-under windows.

And now, based on this story, I think they're going more than a step too far.

It appears that the interstitial ad may be making a comeback.

For those who aren't up to speed on the jargon of the pony-tail brigade, I'm talking about ads that force you to sit their watching their lame message for a fixed period of time before you are able to get to the content you are seeking.

These are the closest things we have to TV ads on the Internet. They don't just sit alongside the content you're after -- they totally eclipse it for a finite period of time.

Of course many online publications will welcome advertisers who demand interstitial placements. After all -- they'll be able to charge a high premium for such advertising and then, when their readers kick up a stink, they'll simply say "for those readers who want to avoid the interstitial advertising, we offer a subscription-based ad-free alternative."

In fact, it's interesting to note that one of the sites mentioned in the story is Salon -- who, coincidentally, offer an ad-free subscription-based alternative.

Once a few more publishers cotton on to this, and as the content market begins to thin out with increasing numbers of publications going to the wall, the free lunch currently on offer is going to get rather less enjoyable than it is now.

However, I certainly hope that publishers don't go to the extreme lengths that ZDNet in Australia has. They've completely eliminated the editorial content, and even obscured their own branding in favour of an advertiser's message.

Check out this screen as viewed this morning with Netscape 4.5. I suspect that this isn't the way they really wanted the page to look -- but Ziff Davis, long alleged to be just another unofficial arm of Microsoft, either don't check the effect that third-party ads are having on their pages or have simply not viewed their own pages with a non-Microsoft browser (it' looks crazy in Opera too!).

Oh yes... and not only did the page produce that total lack of editorial content and huge obscuring ad for IBM, it also plonked a pop-up window for a Toshiba portable PC on top as well!

However, perhaps it's just a general decline in standards across the ditch...

For nearly a week now, I've been getting this screen when trying to raise The Australian website early in the morning. Maybe it's just something to do with the growing anti-Kiwi sentiment, maybe their administrator has died and nobody's noticed.

Readers Say (updated hourly) From Yesterday... Covering your butt?... - Martin Micro$oft... - Michael Microsoft Software... - Alan Should we be surprised?... - Dominic Microsoft XP... - Gregor Have Your Say

Another Worm, Yawn!
Check out the Net/Tech newswire for information on a new worm which arrives disguised as a plea for peace in the wake of the US terrorist attacks.

It arrives in the usual way, as an attachment to an email -- but this little sucker does some nasty stuff to your PC -- effectively rendering it unbootable and trying to format your hard-drive.

Tell Me What You Want
It's the time of year when I have to ask Aardvark readers to send me their ideas and suggestions on ways in which I can improve the content or presentation of that content on this website.

Here's your chance to tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I should be doing to make this site better.

Come on now, don't be shy -- let me have it -- both barrels.

One thing I've learnt over the years is that, as the industry, the market, the technology and people's expectations change, you've got to be prepared to adapt or die.

Just drop me a line with your comments and suggestions.

Save The Aardvark Fund
Yes, I have had several donations to the Aardvark fund and I thank those who put their money where their mouse is :-)

If guilt is gnawing away inside you then there's still time to donate.

Just drop by and hand over your loot.

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Contact me if you decide to use either of these feeds and have any problems.

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