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Site: Microsoft charging for equivalents of free services

A story on the WindowsSecrets.com points out this morning that almost all of the services offered by Microsoft's $9.95-per-month MSN Premium service have been duplicated by free services available through Microsoft's Windows Live and Windows XP or Windows Vista. The story, by Scott Dunn, challenges the company for not actively informing MSN Premium customers about the availability of free equivalents.

Some MSN Premium customers might like the notion of getting the various services in a package, rather than piecemeal in Windows and Windows Live. But is the convenience of a unified service worth almost $120 per year, when similar services are available free?

"Microsoft and its ISP partners should be more honest when selling customers a 'premium' subscription service that can easily be accessed for free," said Brian Livingston, WindowsSecrets.com editorial director, in a news release about the story.

On the other hand, Ina Fried of CNet News.com points out that many people using MSN Premium are getting it at little or no cost through Internet service providers who make deals with Microsoft. She concludes: "For me, this all points to the fact that Microsoft has some legacy issues it needs to deal with and highlights the benefit that the Microsoft vs. Google war is having for consumers."

I've asked a Microsoft representative for comment, and I'll update this post depending on the response.

Update, 1:55 p.m.: Here's Microsoft's statement on the story.

MSN Premium was designed to appeal to a different audience than the free Windows Live services and we continue to support this service and our subscribers. MSN Premium offers customers a single integrated client experience that simplifies web access, multiple accounts, service integration, and access to information via the "Dashboard." While Windows Live includes many comparable services, MSN Premium includes software as part of the subscription, including Encarta Premium, and offers additional functionality such as download manager and SpySweeper. Many customers are also attracted to MSN Premium's advertisement-free experience, while Windows Live services are ad-funded.

Posted by at January 3, 2008 9:20 a.m.
Categories: Windows, Windows Live, MSN & Internet Services

Comments

#81010

Posted by unregistered user at 1/3/08 10:54 a.m.

Does MSN Premium content have advertising ? No (I think)

Does the "free" Windows Live Services have advertising ? Yes

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#81014

Posted by unregistered user at 1/3/08 11:08 a.m.

This article you cite is another good reason that Windows Secrets has become the National Enquirer of Windows reporting. This article condemns Microsoft for just releasing (or in the case of Windows Live Calendar, having a product in beta) new products that are similar to other products MS sells. Give em a break! Let them finish the product line (Windows Live is only 50% released), then see how they can position and migrate customers.

Hey Scott, here's a couple other hot tips you can followup on: UFO's have landed in Redmond! Elvis works in MSN Security! Bigfoot writes a column for Windows Secrets!

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#81028

Posted by unregistered user at 1/3/08 11:26 a.m.

The biggest discovery I have made in a decade in IT work, is that there is no software or service that any company provides that there isn't a free equivalent for with equal or better quality. If you pay $0.01 for any software from anybody, you've paid too much. The one exception may be database software where I think mySQL still is a little behind Oracle in features.

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#81048

Posted by slaggg at 1/3/08 12:23 p.m.

Please point me to the free version of Halo !

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#81049

Posted by unregistered user at 1/3/08 12:23 p.m.

MSN Premium has no banner ads and no ads at all in email and that is worth the price. I personally prefer it because all the services are all there in one window - consolidated and easy. I think it would have been great for Microsoft to rebrand MSN to Windows Live and just upgrade that instead of releasing a new parallel brand. There is a risk in switching and when Microsoft eventually phases out MSN Premium, that will mean I will have to choose a replacement out of all the available alternatives, and since at that time I will feel abandoned by MSN, I might choose a competitor.

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#81101

Posted by unregistered user at 1/3/08 3:14 p.m.

he also neglects to mention the outlook connector, which lets outlook and windows live hotmail sync contacts/addresses, as well as calendar services. Nifty feature, worth some money.

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#81280

Posted by haraldf at 1/4/08 3:03 a.m.

Our two cents: This is the _old Microsoft business model (MSN, Bill Gates) versus the new business model (Windows Live, Ray Ozzie) in two separate organizational silos_ story. A comment on CrunchGear states: “In short, one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing in Redmond.” Might be. Our opinion is: We are witnessing a company in transition.

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Microsoft, you really need to start looking for revenue elsewhere. Resorting to bribing users to use your products and services is just plain embarrassing.
-- Reader on Microsoft offers 'perks' to search users