In today’s SIgnal: How engineers, in cahoots with viewers, are still working out ways to minimize the intrusion of commercials; HBO says ‘no go’ to a HBO Go streaming service; the last of Digiday’s eight-part series of articles examining the issue of “Redefining Privacy”; Solve Media’s new Brand Tags — annoying or ingenious?;  and more.

To the links …

The Incredible Survival Story of the TV Advertisement (The Atlantic) Ingenious ways to minimize commercials will go on being invented, but it’s safe to assume that just as much technological skill will be devoted to keeping us in their thrall.

HBO Says No, for Now, to Fans Who Want a Web-Only Option (MediaDecoder) HBO isn’t interested in how much would you pay monthly for a standalone HBO GO streaming service, because it wouldn’t make economic sense — not now, anyway.

Millennials Take Privacy Seriously Too (Digiday) Not only do young folks recognize the value of the social Web, but also they fully understand the risks. They care about online privacy, and, unlike the older generation, they know how to manage their online presence.

Solve Media Launches Brand-Research Tool Disguised as a Captcha (AdAge) Solve Media says its new brand research tool is the answer to the question, How do we take really complex brand problems and turn out really simple solutions? Called Brand Tags, the innovation is a Captcha that displays a brand’s logo instead of squiggly letters, and instructs web visitors to type in a word or phrase that they think best describes the brand. Sound ingenious, or will it just annoy consumers?

Why Mobile Will Dominate the Future of Media and Advertising (The Atlantic) More on how you wouldn’t know by looking at mobile advertising spend that we’re about to enter a world in which there are more tablets and smart phones than PCs.

Facebook’s Answer To The App Store Is Days From Launching (BI) FB’s App Center will incentivize the making of good apps and, since Facebook will no doubt highlight hard work, give developers a reason to stick around. In fact, the news has occurred.

Copyright Law Threatens to Destroy the World, in Year Zero (Io9) Rob Reid, founder of Listen.com (the company that created the Rhapsody music service), has written a book about aliens who love our music a little too much.

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