34639 - AllAdvantage viewbar app doesn't recognize browsing

Status: VERIFIED INVALID

(SeaMonkey :: General, defect, P3)

Description

[Mark Takacs]

AllAdvantage is one of those "get paid for surfing the web" services.  You
download an custom application that displays a viewbar. The viewbar shows ads
and sniffs your mouse and window focus.   You get paid "by the minute".

From the FAQ:

http://www.alladvantage.com/ref_center.asp?refid=AZC687

"You accumulate payable when you are actively surfing the web. Actively means
that you are viewing World Wide Web pages in your browser (not using other
applications such as Usenet newsgroup readers or email programs) and that you
are bringing up new page views by typing URLs into the address bar, scrolling
down a displayed page, or by clicking on hyperlinks within Web pages. Your
session will time out if there is no activity for several minutes. You know the
Viewbar? is accumulating time when the head of the Infomediary Man at the left
end of the Viewbar? is green. If it's red, you're not accumulating paid time. "

In 4.7x, the AA viewbar recognizes when you're reading mail, composing mail, or
browsing newsgroups, etc.  It ONLY logs time (goes green) when you've got a
dedicated browser window open.

The viewbar will also launch the browser (4.7x, 3.x and/or IE) that's registered
as the default HTML viewer if the browser is not running.

Comment 1

[Mark Takacs]

You can get a copy of the viewbar application at
http://www.alladvantage.com/home.asp?refid=AZC687

They used to have a waiting period. Dunno if that still applies. I'll see if I
can download a copy, tho you do need an account code/password to install it.

Comment 2

[Mark Takacs]

It's hard to believe that AllAdvantage would hard-code the list of valid
WindowTitle handles (or whatever)into their viewbar app, tho I suppose it's
possible.

There's an "stress harness" (cheat) out there that lets you "get paid to sleep".
This is interesting because it might shed some light on the internals.

Launch the MYAdvantageHack
you give it a list of N urls.
You launch the viewbar
You launch your browser
The stress tester:
1) puts focus on browser window
2) generates mouse events every 20 seconds or so
3) every few mins (5 or so) it loads a new url from it's cycle list

This seems to be enuf to defeat the "idle timeout" aspect of the viewbar app.
The hack does NOT work with Mozilla.

Comment 3

[Jon Granrose]

I emailed them via their "Contact Us" link on their web page, asking if they 
have any plans of upgrading their Viewbar app to work with Netscape 6.

Anyone have any ideas as to if this is a problem with the browser or the Viewbar 
app?  I'm assuming it's a problem with Viewbar, but who knows.

Marking PDT so people are aware of the problem.

Comment 4

[leger]

Putting on nsbeta2 radar...for review.  this is not a top 100 site, is it?

Comment 5

[Jon Granrose]

alladvantage isn't a web site people visit, it's an application that people use 
to get paid for surfing the web.

they have many many many users (I know four of my friends do it) and are one of 
those hot internet companies ($10M to $2.2B in a year hot) you wish you were at 
when they go public.  It would be good to be sure that our browser works with 
their toolbar by the time we RTM.  But I don't know if the problem is on our end 
or their end.

Comment 6

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

[e-mail] (Mark Takacs, have you emailed teh alladvantages folkd to 
see if it might be a problem on thier end?

Comment 7

[Tak]

Asa,
  It looks like granrose did back on 4/5/2000 from the bugsplat notes..
-tak

Comment 8

[Clay Collier]

This is a problem with Alladvantages viewbar software, and not with Mozilla.  On
the most basic level, the viewbar looks for the words 'Microsoft Internet
Explorer' or 'Netscape Navigator' in the titlebar of the window.  I've gotten
the viewbar to log time on a properly renamed CRT Telnet window in the past.
I'd say someone should email Alladvantage and ask them to recognize Mozilla, if
someone is interested, and otherwise mark this invalid.

clay

Comment 9

[Jon Granrose]

I emailed them way back when, but no response.  If this were a Netscape internal 
bug I would say marketing should handle this since releasing a browser that 
does not work with AllAdvantage means releasing a browser that a lot of people 
aren't going to use.  But since mozilla.org doesn't have a marketing team as far 
as I know, dunno who should be handling this.

cc'ing eric krock for his input.

Comment 10

[Bozhan Boiadzhiev]

all types of this (get paid for surfing the web, spedia, alladvantage , and 
more dumb stuff) have to consider with the browser, not browser with them so 
mark that as invalid

Comment 11

[ekrock's old account (dead)]

All the evidence so far is that they need to update their app to recognize 
Mozilla and Netscape 6. No one has evidence of a problem on our side. Granrose 
has already evangelized; the rest is up to them. Marketing hasn't the cycles to 
keep after folks who have been notified and don't respond.

Marking INVALID. If someone finds evidence that a problem with Mozilla is 
preventing their app from working, please reopen with details of the specific 
issue.

Comment 12

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

Sorry for the spam.  New QA Contact for Browser General.  Thanks for your help
Joseph (good luck with the new job) and welcome aboard Doron Rosenberg

Comment 13

[Doron Rosenberg (IBM)]

verified. perhaps aol should buy em?