Actually, i would expect Microsoft to switch Hotmail to a pay-only system quite soon, primarily because it is a part of Passport (and thus .NET My Services). Microsoft announced that users will have to pay to participate in .NET My Services (as will businesses who access the data), so when that is in place, they will probably have to pay for Hotmail. For more on .NET My Services, the official site: http://www.microsoft.com/myservices/ (or do a websearch on Hailstorm, the old code name). Most of the free services have been bought up by major corporations who intend to either integrate the services into one of their packages, or to use the consumer base for other purposes (often through advertising) (eGroups/Onelist, free mail programs, free internet, free phone calls, ...). Since the ability to sell advertising has depleted in the current market, i expect that most of these services will either disappear or begin to cost money. Hell, even media has started to cost money for "premium" services (i.e. Salon). Sure, people leave when advertising starts (the aforementioned Yahoogroups), but when there aren't alternatives, it becomes even more problematic for users. So long as there are free alternatives, companies will have a hard time charging for equal services, but as the free companies go under, i expect that fees will immediately follow. As an example, look at the evolution of "free internet" (i.e. Juno/NetZero which has been limiting the "free" component more and more). What concerns me is what impact this will have in magnifying the "digital divide"... ::sigh:: danah --- d a n a h --- b o y d ------http://www.danah.org/--------- "but as bad as i am i'm proud of the fact that i'm worse than i seem what kind of paradise am i looking for? i've got everything i want and still i want more" On Thu, 1 Nov 2001, Derek McMillan wrote:
The free aspects of the internet are being eroded. The free homepages provided by homepage.com have gone altogether. Yahoo Geocities have introduced two tier services, for those who pay and those who don't. This morning I discovered that Hotmail are also introducing a "new improved service" for a small fee and restricting just slightly the fee for the second-class members who do not pay for a service which has always been free before Bill Gates got his hands on it. Is it just a matter of time before those who do not pay will receive no service?
Has anyone else noticed similar trends?
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