If tracking worked, I think we would all actually like it.

Imagine searching for a new mattress online. Then getting ads with progressively bigger discounts and perks ("Free Delivery!") until you buy it.

Then you stop getting ads for mattresses. Completely.

THAT is how this SHOULD work, and COULD work, but doesn't, because everyone involved in the scam that is online advertising knows the emperor has no clothes but has no fucking idea what to do about it.

Then Apple comes along and disables tracking.

The whole house of cards comes crashing down... and something else will emerge from the ashes.

Apple has done this before. Multiple times. It's their Thing; they look at how everyone will be using a technology in 5 years, and say "Fuck it. Let's do it now." and force their entire userbase kicking and screaming into the future. And three months later it is normal.

Mouse-based interface. Removing the floppy drive. Removing the CD drive. Killing shareware and opening the App Store. Removing the keypad from phones. Ending support for Flash. Moving on from USB.

The list goes on and on and on.

And every single time they do it, an imperious minority gets all huffy and wound up about it, and projects the end of Apple. And within a few short months of the change, it becomes the standard across the industry.

The online advertising industry has failed, and has been failing for more than a decade. Someone needs to shoot this zombie in the head, so we can all move forward. Apple has the gun loaded, and is about to pull the trigger.

What will be truly fascinating is when Android (Google) adopts the idea and online ads (Google) have to finally pull their own weight and provide demonstrable benefits to the advertiser...