Web-connectedPrinters
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HP CTO suggests webOS integration will run deep
It's starting to look like the question isn't what HP will be using webOS for, but what won't it be using it for? Speaking at the Techonomy conference this week, HP's Chief Technology Officer, Shane Robison, said that "what Palm gives us is a modern, Web-oriented, connected operating system," which he suggests will be central to many of the company's products. In particular, Robison said that "most" of HP's printers will soon be web-connected, and that webOS will allow it to have a consistent interface across those and other devices. He did say that webOS wouldn't be replacing Windows on netbooks, however, noting that "we're not trying to wreck the market we've already got."
HP and Yahoo team up to deliver targeted ads... to printers
Seriously. To be specific, the two companies are working on delivering targeted ads to HP's web-connected printers, and the ads would apparently only show up when you use HP's "scheduled delivery" service to have portions of a newspaper or magazine printed every morning. To make those ads as targeted as possible, HP says the printers would employ IP sniffing to help pin down your location, and the company says that the ads could also be targeted based on "user's behavior as well as the content" -- although it's quick to point out that everything must be done with privacy in mind. Will folks mind having ads encroach on their own printed materials (not to mention printer ink)? Not according to HP's Stephen Nigro, who says that HP has discovered "that people were not bothered by it," and that part of its belief is that "you're used to it. You're used to seeing things with ads."
