Apple is now advising App Store developers that it will reject any application submitted for review if the location-aware capabilities of the iPhone API is used to provide the user with location-aware ads, MacNN has reported. The move could be a signal that the company itself plans to move into the space, and that wouldn’t be that surprising.

Consider that Apple did look into a buyout of AdMob, which ended up being purchased by Google. It bought out mobile advertiser Quattro Wireless, and has said it wants to offer its developers advertising solutions within their apps.

Add this all up, and it certainly seems like Apple is ready to move into the mobile advertising space — and is clearing out any possibe competitors to do it. This is Cupertino’s M.O., so its not that surprising. Developers are certainly speaking out on the issue, such as Craig Hockenberry of Twitterific.

“Looks like Apple is going to keep location-based advertising to themselves,” he said- not surprisingly in a tweet on Wednesday.

I can certainly see why Apple would like to do this, but i certainly do view it as quite anticompetitive. If this is used as a way to give Quattro the leg up on advertising on the iPhone, I’d think it would be frowned upon by competition regulators. Then again, Apple has been doing things like this for years, and nothing has ever been done…

As part of its retooling as it becomes an independent company (again!), AOL is unveiling a new logo. It dumps the triangle that has been part of the corporate identity since the company’s glory days, and spells the name “Aol”–upper and lower case, with a period. (It’s been a long time since AOL has called itself “America Online”–it no more uses that moniker than AT&T likes to be called American Telephone & Telegraph.)

For reasons I don’t quite understand, AOL (AOL.?) is making a big deal out of the notion of overlaying the new logo on an array of imagery (which, among other things, shows how hard it is to make typography read unless it’s a consistently light color on top of a consistently dark one, or vice versa).

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Now, this is an IE ad that’s entertaining rather than repulsive–and probably a smart choice of an endorser of interest to the sort of folks who IE8 and its Web Slices feature will appeal to the most.

Kinda reminds me of when Microsoft dragged out Queen Latifah to pal around with Bill Gates at a Windows Media Center event and neither of them seemed to have a clue what she was doing there–except this time, Dolly seems to be in on the fun.

(Via ReadWriteWeb)

Verizon is spending a lot of money advertising its upcoming Droid smartphone. It’s everywhere–from commercials on TV to bills posted on construction sites. But I question whether the iPhone-mocking focus of the ad campaign can generate broad appeal.

The ads target the iPhone’s shortcomings, such as its lack of a camera flash and the rigid application development limitations imposed by Apple. They include statements about the iPhone such as “‘iDon’t have a real keyboard,” “iDon’t allow open development,” and “iDon’t run simultaneous apps.’” Those points resonate with me, because I’m a member of the tech punditocracy.

The question is, does the average user care about things such as open development? I’m an iPhone owner, and Apple’s draconian policies don’t really affect my overall experience. There are still plenty of apps to choose from. I haven’t met too many disaffected iPhone users, probably because the user experience–while imperfect–is pretty great.

Beyond the jailbreaking crowd and some grumblings about Google Voice, I have never heard anyone complain that he or she didn’t have all of the applications that he or she wanted on the iPhone. Verizon’s clumsy wording doesn’t help either. The message would be more effective as something like “iDon’t permit all the apps you want.”

Verizon’s playful advertising campaign keeps the Droid fresh in my mind, and initial buzz on the device is favorable. I might consider buying it when I need a new device. However, that would involve switching carriers, and would leave much of my iTunes music library orphaned. My music, video and phone are all-in-one now, and I do not want to have to carry around a separate iPod.

I chose to buy Apple’s DRM music format, as well as to be locked into AT&T’s network. Aside from some intermittent dropped calls, and poor reception in areas that Verizon fully covers, I’m happy with my decision. If I’m a hard sell, I’d venture that people who don’t care about things like running simultaneous apps aren’t really getting what’s so special about the Droid.

Remember that upcoming FOX special starring Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy–the one sponsored entirely by Windows 7, with the operating system worked into the show itself? Musing about it a couple of weeks ago, I said “there seems to be a basic cognitive dissonance at work when a supposedly take-no-prisoners, slay-all-sacred-cows kinda sensibility is applied to a paid advertising message.”

Turns out we won’t have to deal with any cognitive dissonance after all. According to Variety, Microsoft executives attended the show’s taping and discovered that the embedded Windows 7 references were accompanied by “riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.” They were apparently startled–um, have they never watched Family Guy?–and concluded, according to a Microsoft statement, that “the content was not a fit with the Windows brand.” Goodbye, Microsoft sponsorship. (The company says it’ll work with McFarlane on other Windows-related marketing.)

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Hmmm! As I learned from All Things Digital’s Kara Swisher, even Apple ended up joining in the Windows 7 launch festivities today, in its own special way–by premiering three new “Get a Mac” ads that are specifically about the arrival of the new OS.

They’re very funny, very clever, very mean, at least somewhat effective, and–at least in the case of the first one below–unfair. (Windows 7 is a major improvement on Vista, and hey–Apple OS upgrades have been known to fix nagging problems with their predecessors, too.)

Also, while there are any number of sensible reasons for Windows users to consider switching to the Mac, avoiding the hassle of upgrading from XP to Windows 7 isn’t one of them. Unless Apple suddenly starts bundling its hardware with the OS for free.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d be just as happy if the snarkfest that has been recent ads from both Apple and Microsoft were to fade away. (Microsoft’s latest Windows ads involve shiny happy people of all ages, but it has a enough of a tendency to careen between different advertising messages that I wouldn’t be stunned if it starts unloading on Apple again in upcoming ads.)

Maybe Kylie won’t be doing all the heavy lifting of marketing Windows 7 after all. With Windows 7′s official rollout, Microsoft has segued into a new twist on its “I’m a PC” tagline: “I’m a PC, and Windows 7 was my idea.”  As Microsoft ads go, I like this one–it’s less patronizing than most. On the other hand, it sure follows in the tradition of other Microsoft ad campaigns whose basic message was this: “Remember that product we told you was amazing a few years ago? It’s junk–upgrade now!”

Later today in New York City, Microsoft will be hosting its Windows 7 launch event. I won’t be there, but I have a good excuse: I decided to stay home in San Francisco and go to the last day of the Web 2.0 Summit to see Tim Berners-Lee speak. I hope everyone who makes the trek has a good time, but I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that nothing transpires that leaves me kicking myself for not attending. (Microsoft plans to stream the event live starting at 11am EDT, so those of us who aren’t there can check in on the festivities.)

In lieu of being at the 7 launch, I’ve been revisiting old clips relating to Windows launches past. Join me, won’t you?
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Part of the upcoming extravaganza of Windows 7 marketing which will presumably soon be upon us involves a November 8th Fox TV special starring Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. It’s sponsored by Microsoft and has Windows 7 references woven in. (I refuse to call it “commercial-free,” but it’ll have no traditional breaks for standard commercials.)

Ars Technica found a teaser clip:

I’ll wait to judge the whole thing until I watch the show (or don’t watch it!) but there seems to be a basic cognitive dissonance at work when a supposedly take-no-prisoners, slay-all-sacred-cows kinda sensibility is applied to a paid advertising message. (There’s a reason why MAD magazine–from which all modern humor springs–refused to accept even traditional advertising back in the day.)

But if nothing else, the show will ensure that lots and lots of people are exposed to Windows 7…

As TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid has reported, DoubleTwist–a media manager application that, among other things, serves as a bridge between iTunes and non-Apple devices–is promoting a new version that debuts on October 6th with an ad that looks…eerily familiar:

Yup, the ad is an animated remake of Apple’s legendary “1984″ commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, which introduced the Mac–except this time the scary overlord (who seemed to represent IBM the first time around) bears a striking resemblance to Steve Jobs:

DoubleTwist isn’t saying what the new feature is, but in general, the company’s product is on the side of the angels–it lets people who don’t own Apple devices participate in the iTunes ecology in a way that makes way more sense than Palm’s USB spoofing. DoubleTwist founder Jon “DVD Jon” Lech Johansen is a kind of a genius, and I’m curious what the company has up its sleeve.

That said, I don’t think much of the ad. It doesn’t take much creativity to remake somebody else’s commercial, and this particular remake is less than artful. Then again, I also think that of Apple’s version. It may be universally regarded as one of the greatest TV ads of all time, but the Orwellian overtones were as hyperbolic in 1984 as they are in 2009. And what potential customer wants to watch a commercial that depicts him or her as a compliant zombie? (I’d like to see Apple open up iTunes myself, but I don’t feel like I’m part of an army of lobotomized drones when I use it–nor do I think that Steve Jobs is any more of a terrifying Big Brother than whoever was running IBM in 1984.)

On the other hand, DoubleTwist’s first anti-Apple prank–getting a huge ad seemingly displayed on the outside wall of one of Apple’s flagship stores–is one of the greatest practical jokes ever played by anyone on anyone. May whatever DoubleTwist releases next week live up to the imagination it showed with that bit of guerilla marketing…

Yahoo plans to spend $100 million marketing itself, and it’s posted the ad that kicks off the new campaign:

If you showed an alien this ad, he (she? it?) would come to the conclusion that Yahoo is a place where nobody’s old, bald, fat, or ugly–and where nobody uses computers. Whatever problems Yahoo has, they don’t avoid a shortage of users; I think it’s less about encouraging folks to use the site and more about attempting to glamorize the Yahoo name and remind marketers that a heck of a lot of folks use Yahoo for all sorts of purposes everyday.

Fair enough, I guess-but the emphasis on personalization (“It’s You”) feels like it’s still catching up with the reality of today’s Internet, where there’s hardly anything that isn’t really customizable, and where stuff created by real people is a primary attraction almost everywhere. If you stripped out the explicit Yahoo references and told me this was an ad for Windows Live, I’d believe you.

Your thoughts?

(This interview is part of David Spark’s (@dspark) series “Making Money from Podcasting” (read summary “9 Successful Techniques for Making Money from Podcasting”) where he interviews podcasters who are actually generating revenue from their podcasts. There are many techniques, and here’s one person’s tale of how he’s making money from podcasting.)

Got audience? We’ll get you sponsors. Or, get sponsors on your own and we’ll insert the ads.

Rob Walch is the VP of podcaster relations at Wizzard Media, the former host of Podcast 411, a podcast that interviews other podcasters (he interviewed me when I hosted Sprint’s podcast), and the host of an even more popular podcast, Today in iPhone.

Walch has a long history and knowledge in podcasting. When I came up with the idea for the “Making Money from Podcasting” series, Walch was the first person I called. I talked to him about all the different business models and asked for suggestions of people to interview.

Interview (Time: 13:29)

Download MP3

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How NYTimes.com suffered malware attack.

Lenovo launches multi-touch laptops.

Tearing down the Zune HD.

PC games for five bucks.

Obligatory Apple tablet rumor story.

Seagate’s second-generation TV box.

HP MediaSmart servers: Mac friendlier.

Bing Visual Search? No thanks.

Google wants to liberate data.

Aardvark launches cool iPhone app.

Um, some of them will star grownups, right? Even so, it’s nice to see a Windows ad that’s actually about Windows…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU&feature=player_embedded]

(Via Joe Wilcox.)

Over at Ars Technica, there’s an interesting piece on training materials prepared by Microsoft for Best Buy staffers making the case that Windows 7 PCs are preferable to Macs. Most of the points in Windows’ favor that the materials raise are true; it’s just that anything that might tend to favor the Mac is left out. I guess that’s an improvement over earlier Microsoft PC/Mac comparisons that involved both truth-stretching and errors.

If I ran Best Buy, I’d do my darndest to keep anyone with an agenda other than serving the customer out of the selling process. Pretty much by definition, that would prohibit companies from doing these sorts of comparisons of their own products with those of competitors. I mean, if Macs are so crummy, why does Best Buy sell them?

It reminds me of an experience I had at CompUSA years ago: I was eyeing a Canon inkjet printer when a salesguy strolled up and gravely warned me that Canon printers’ ink cartridges had an alarming tendency to dry up–unlike those in HP printers. I couldn’t figure out why a CompUSA rep would care whether I bought a Canon or HP product–until I realized that he was actually an HP employee who CompUSA had allowed to troll for customers in its aisles…

Advertising Age is reporting that a Delaware company is suing Microsoft’s ad agency over ads for Bing that were integrated into the TV show The Philanthropist. I’m not a big prime-time watcher, so this is the first I’ve heard of this:

Commercials for Bing were filmed on-set using actors from the show, which made its debut this summer and stars James Purefoy and Neve Campbell. The Bing-themed ads appeared between the TV programming and regular commercial breaks.

Still unclear: Why this idea is patentable in the first place, or how it’s fundamentally different from the ads that were deeply embedded into old radio shows–I mean, Jack Benny and pals not only discussed Jello every week, but the Benny program was named after the stuff.

[Full discloure: Bing is a Technologizer advertiser.]