Yes, this is true: Last year Apple Inc. filed for , no matter how hard you tried to avoid it.

[ According to Cringely's estimates, the Apple takeover may be nearly complete, as he documents in "" | Stay up to date on Robert X. Cringely's musings and observations with InfoWorld's . ]

First made public back in October, the notion is getting more attention thanks to by Randall Stross, who has in the past.

The idea is that phones, computers, set-top boxes, etc. can be sold more cheaply -- or even given away for free -- if subsidized by ads. But because nearly everyone who doesn't work in the ad industry loathes advertising, the subsidizers need to ensure people are actually watching these horrid things. Per Stross:

Its distinctive feature is a design that doesn't simply invite a user to pay attention to an ad -- it also compels attention. The technology can freeze the device until the user clicks a button or answers a test question to demonstrate that he or she has dutifully noticed the commercial message. Because this technology would be embedded in the innermost core of the device, the ads could appear on the screen at any time, no matter what one is doing.