Looks like Google Video has come up with an ad model that allows users to view “premium” content for free. I watched a few clips of “Ask the Builder”:1 for free in which there’s an ad banner above the content and a video ad at the end. Here’s a screen shot of the Charlie Rose show to show what the banner ad looks like.

This comes as the broadcast “upfront” (where the networks sell the majority of their advertising inventory) closes down for the second year in a row.

More good news for the web, more bad news for “old media.”

[1(Ask the Builder on Google Video)]http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=type%3Asv_askthebuilder

I hope the peeps down in Hollywood understand that allowing stuff like this sells DVDs… and one day HD-DVDwhatevertheyaregonnacallthems.

So AT&T (the company formally known as SBC or PacBell or whatever) sent me a notice that my DSL rates were going up from about $25/month to $39.99/month. “Negative Ghost Rider”:1.

So after ending up on hold for about 15 minutes, I finally got in touch with someone in AT&T’s retention department. They offered to keep the rates basically the same if I renewed for a year. I can deal with that even though cable modem speeds are better… but, of course, way more money.

Clearly, it pays to bitch.

[1(Wikipedia on Ghost Rider)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Rider