AMD making money from ad revenue from installing drivers!?!?

[Master Disaster]

25 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Intel works too.

That's very true, Intel has great Mac & Linux support but that's due to the community, not because of Intel.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but Intel don't provide Linux drivers at all do they? I mean I know they push CPU microcode updates out via the various software centers but the actual drivers are all open source aren't they?

[Lord Nicoll]

18 hours ago, sof006 said:

And the big deal is? Its not hurting the consumer and AMD makes a little bit more money and the owners of the product get noticed better. I see nothing wrong with this, I assume Nvidia, Intel etc all do this as well.

stealth adding what is basically adware and a PUP, might be illegal, I have that driver and I didn't see any mention of that in the custom install section (because who tells a driver to install what ever it wants) so maybe it's illegal where I am, I know the EU can get pissy about this like this sometimes, or maybe the deal was only for users in certain counties. I don't want ads anywhere near me, I paid for all the crap I have, I am not then having ads forced down my throat by corporations thinking it's acceptable to make money by invading my personal space and devices, thinking they own them because I have one of their components in it. 

[Prysin]

17 minutes ago, Sauron said:

The article and the post don't say whether it's optional or not, either way unless it is clearly stated that it will be installed it's definitely not the user's fault.

i'm going to install the latest drivers later today... but i bet its like EVERY single AMD driver. 

Express installs Raptr and other bullshit you dont need, Custom let you check boxes regarding what you want.

[Tenelia]

3 hours ago, TOMPPIX said:

UPDATE

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/amd-apologizes-for-quake-champions-link-in-driver-update.html

it's a bitly link, amd is not making shit from that link.

 

I love how the Nvidia fanboys are just making assumptions after assumptions...

[mr moose]

9 minutes ago, Tenelia said:

I love how the Nvidia fanboys are just making assumptions after assumptions...

It wasn't an assumption. The original article actually stated that AMD was making money from a tracker in the link.   Whether that is true or not is moot.  People were only commenting based on the information they were given.


When I read the comments here it seems most people were just pissed because it carries out actions beyond the reasonable expectation for a driver package without permission.  Not so much becasue AMD were making money off of them.   Whilst this is only a small thing by itself,  it is another thing on top of a long list of little things happening to paying customers without their permission.   Everyday it seems to get harder to maintain your privacy on line, with trackers, miners, cookies, embedded this that and the other, government watching and ISP logs, bug reports and telemetry data that isn't fully divulged.  Add on to that hidden software installed from dvd's, torrent programs and the rest.  Some people have just had enough and that is not a crime nor a little boy tantrum.

[Mr.Meerkat]

7 minutes ago, Lord Nicoll said:

stealth adding what is basically adware and a PUP, might be illegal, I have that driver and I didn't see any mention of that in the custom install section (because who tells a driver to install what ever it wants) so maybe it's illegal where I am, I know the EU can get pissy about this like this sometimes, or maybe the deal was only for users in certain counties. I don't want ads anywhere near me, I paid for all the crap I have, I am not then having ads forced down my throat by corporations thinking it's acceptable to make money by invading my personal space and devices, thinking they own them because I have one of their components in it. 

To be honest, I would not be surprised if it was in one of the TOS/T&C you've agreed to without reading...  

[LAwLz]

33 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

That's very true, Intel has great Mac & Linux support but that's due to the community, not because of Intel.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but Intel don't provide Linux drivers at all do they? I mean I know they push CPU microcode updates out via the various software centers but the actual drivers are all open source aren't they?

The open source drivers that ship with most GNU/Linux distros are developed by Intel themselves.

 

17 minutes ago, mr moose said:

It wasn't an assumption. The original article actually stated that AMD was making money from a tracker in the link.   Whether that is true or not is moot.  People were only commenting based on the information they were given.

Even if they didn't make money from it, the fact that they used a unique URL for it indicates that they wanted to log how many users clicked the link for some reason. My guess would be that this was a test to see how many people would click on the ad, and that data could be used in future negotiations for ad spots.

[samcool55]

They should have done this differently...

If they put a settings in the radeon control panel or something to opt-in into these things it would be fine or whatever, something similar like they do with banner ads.

 

Placing a shotcut icon from nowhere isn't a good idea. At least they should communicate with the users where it comes from and why.

[TOMPPIX]

a lot of the time i miss betas that you have to sign up for because i didn't know they existed in the first place. this move will make sure more people try the beta which in turn will make the final game more stable and have less bugs and glitches. people now days seem to focus on the negative outcome first and totally ignore the positive outcome.

[samcool55]

18 minutes ago, TOMPPIX said:

a lot of the time i miss betas that you have to sign up for because i didn't know they existed in the first place. this move will make sure more people try the beta which in turn will make the final game more stable and have less bugs and glitches. people now days seem to focus on the negative outcome first and totally ignore the positive outcome.

I agree, but the issue is they way they promoted the beta.

They shouldn't just throw a desktop icon for a beta from nowhere. There are better options to communicate (just some form of communication would be a step in the right direction) about the beta and leave it up to the users if they want it or not.

[TOMPPIX]

5 minutes ago, samcool55 said:

I agree, but the issue is they way they promoted the beta.

They shouldn't just throw a desktop icon for a beta from nowhere. There are better options to communicate (just some form of communication would be a step in the right direction) about the beta and leave it up to the users if they want it or not.

that i agree with. but this thing has turned into a much bigger shitstorm than it should be, all because the words ad and money was involved.

[normpearii]

Did a custom clean install, there was no options for Quake.

No new desktop icon

Spoiler

 

So either they've replace the installer in the last hour since I downloaded it or the icon is only placed in express mode.

Also, I should probably uninstall BF1's open beta... I normally just type program names into the start menu to launch them or use the taskbar...

Also my God Mode folder no longer shows its name...

[Notional]

2 hours ago, huilun02 said:

AMD has responded, clearly not handling it well at all compared to Geforce Experience

Could learn a thing or two from Nvidia

 

Yeah, NVidia definitely made it an artform to buttfrack their customers in the donkeyhole, without lube, and still get a "thank you, you are awesome Nvidia".

 

Seriously, it's a link shortcut. People completely accept telemetry, vendor lock in, forced log ins, and several anti consumer behaviours, plus overpricing. But a goddamn SHORTCUT, and they freak out like AMD installed Norton Antivirus or cancer.

[Misanthrope]

Mini rant: You guys are reaping what you sow.

 

This goes all the way back to Google not only establishing as a search engine but penetrating as the main browser, the main phone OS, one of the top email providers, etc. 

 

Then along came Microsoft and said "me too!" with Windows 10 and there was no shortage of apologists that even go as far as throwing whataboutery about the aforementioned Google not realizing this accomplishes nothing but legitimizing bad behavior for both companies.

 

Now we'll start seeing this at the driver version for hardware vendors. With cellphones and tablets covered, smart tvs and IOT devices covered, desktop computer that go all the way down to the driver level and operative system level, this is the way of the future: You all have tacitly accepted a future of unremoveable spam everywhere for products you fucking paid full retail for no matter what you try.

 

Next time you make fun of me for coming down hard on Windows 10, on Google, etc. Think about what you're advocating with your apologetics: an inescapable marketing utopia.

[Jito463]

3 hours ago, Lord Nicoll said:

stealth adding what is basically adware and a PUP, might be illegal

Adware?  No.  You could make the case that it's an ad, but you have to explicitly click on it for it to have any affect.

 

PUP?  Do you even know what that acronym stands for?  Potentially Unwanted Program.  Key word: program.  This is a shortcut, not an installed program.

[Sakkura]

4 hours ago, Lord Nicoll said:

stealth adding what is basically adware and a PUP, might be illegal, I have that driver and I didn't see any mention of that in the custom install section (because who tells a driver to install what ever it wants) so maybe it's illegal where I am, I know the EU can get pissy about this like this sometimes, or maybe the deal was only for users in certain counties. I don't want ads anywhere near me, I paid for all the crap I have, I am not then having ads forced down my throat by corporations thinking it's acceptable to make money by invading my personal space and devices, thinking they own them because I have one of their components in it. 

How can a shortcut be a PUP. That stands for Potentially Unwanted Program, and a shortcut is not a program at all.

[79wjd]

4 hours ago, LAwLz said:

I hate stupid bullshit like this, and I hate the people who defend anyone who does it.

"Everyone else does it is OK!" is such a terrible excuse. The reason why "everyone else does it" is because people like you allow it to happen. If everyone banded together and looked at what this actually is, a terrible move that is harmful to consumers, then companies would not be able to pull shit like this.

I understand your point here, but the thing is, at least for me, I know that there's nothing that I can personally do about it -- sure, as you said, if everyone banded together it could be prevented, but I don't think most people care enough to bother (hence we have the likes of Windows 10). So while I don't like the idea of data harvesting/ad injection, there doesn't seem to be much that I, as an individual, can personally do and therefore I shrug it off and don't let it affect my decision -- too much. 

[LAwLz]

33 minutes ago, Notional said:

Seriously, it's a link shortcut. People completely accept telemetry, vendor lock in, forced log ins, and several anti consumer behaviours, plus overpricing. But a goddamn SHORTCUT, and they freak out like AMD installed Norton Antivirus or cancer.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's not the same people complaining in this thread about the shortcut, who are also OK with telemetry and other things? Perhaps it is two separate groups?

 

 

13 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

I understand your point here, but the thing is, at least for me, I know that there's nothing that I can personally do about it -- sure, as you said, if everyone banded together it could be prevented, but I don't think most people care enough to bother (hence we have the likes of Windows 10). So while I don't like the idea of data harvesting/ad injection, there doesn't seem to be much that I, as an individual, can personally do and therefore I shrug it off and don't let it affect my decision -- too much. 

The problem is that too many people think they way you do. Also, it does work. AMD has changed it to no longer include the link (you can still use the link by the way, I posted it above). So clearly if there is backlash some companies are willing to change. It is just a matter of how large the backlash is, and every single person who defends bad behaviors is working against the benefit of consumers.

 

 

 

By the way, the link was not an invite the the beta. It was a link to sign up to potentially get an invite to the beta.

[NumLock21]

99% of the members here went butthurt that a driver update installed a beta game shortcut link. Just delete the damn thing and move on. If this puny piece of link is driving some to the brink of insanity. Imagine what it must be for them, to work at their dream job of being a system builder or work at a computer shop. They can't due to that many installers will add some additional programs.

 

One easy example is adobe flash player it comes with google chrome and google toolbar. 

 

Tech#1: uncheck both google programs, install flash and move on. 

 

Tech#2: just install it without paying attention to what they are doing. Then bitch about it, like they know everything and start ranting on forums about how google chrome and google toolbar has cause galatic amount of stress into their lives everytime they have to install adobe flash player onto the their customers computers.

[Lord Nicoll]

1 hour ago, Sakkura said:

How can a shortcut be a PUP. That stands for Potentially Unwanted Program, and a shortcut is not a program at all.

It's still classified as a PUP, that link could go to any where, it's still as bad as one. 

[Lord Nicoll]

1 hour ago, Jito463 said:

Adware?  No.  You could make the case that it's an ad, but you have to explicitly click on it for it to have any affect.

 

PUP?  Do you even know what that acronym stands for?  Potentially Unwanted Program.  Key word: program.  This is a shortcut, not an installed program.

It's unwanted and bloatware, you can easily make the argument that it's unwanted. It's doesn't strickly need to be a programme for it to be a nuisance or a PUP, short cuts still count, this is arguing semantics and that's for fuckwits, 

[MEC-777]

6 pages of discussion about AMD placing an icon on your desktop with the latest drivers, that is not malicious and can be deleted literally in 2 seconds...? 

 

There's no question AMD and Bethesda have a connection, but come on people. Nobody's forcing anyone to do anything. If the effort required to delete one icon is that difficult for you, maybe you should get some help? lol. Nvidia puts a GFE icon on my desktop every time it updates and I just delete it after if I don't want it there. Simple. 

 

Also, AMD has denied making any money off of this. I'm not saying they aren't lying, but there's no proof otherwise, so you can't make the claim that they ARE making money from it. Aside from that, did anyone ever think that maybe someone at AMD thought, "Hey, some gamers like taking part in betas. Maybe we should give them a leg-up on the green team users and give them a shortcut to sign up for this new game that's in the works? Yeah they might like that." Maybe AMD was actually just trying to do something nice. That's the way I see it anyways.

 

And no, I'm not bias towards AMD in the slightest. I use and prefer Nvidia GPUs.   

[MEC-777]

58 minutes ago, Lord Nicoll said:

It's still classified as a PUP, that link could go to any where, it's still as bad as one. 

 

56 minutes ago, Lord Nicoll said:

It's unwanted and bloatware, you can easily make the argument that it's unwanted. It's doesn't strickly need to be a programme for it to be a nuisance or a PUP, short cuts still count, this is arguing semantics and that's for fuckwits, 

Except that it isn't. 

[Morgan MLGman]

30 minutes ago, MEC-777 said:

 

Except that it isn't. 

btw. I just updated to 17.4.4 from official AMD support website and no shortcut was installed along with the driver.

[Lord Nicoll]

32 minutes ago, MEC-777 said:

 

Except that it isn't. 

well too bad it is