The ads in Outlook are if you're using the free @outlook.com email address. I'm using it with a Zoho email account and I haven't seen ads.
Windows productivity software? Office? Obviously, it is a paid software suite. Always has been. No surprise they're not giving it away. It is not like this is some new thing behind a paywall suddenly. Sure, back in the day it was pretty common for an average home PC to come with at least some version of Microsoft Works, but technically that was an OEM-licensed basic productivity software suite, not actually free. In the end it was just that Dell, HP, Compaq, or whoever was paying for it to put it on the list of out of the box features.
More Copilot features for $20 a month? It is essentially a custom flavor of OpenAI with some more hooks and context. It is no surprise a hosted AI service that normally costs $20/mo continues to cost $20/mo.
You don't need Xbox Game Pass to play games in Windows. Steam, GOG, etc. all still work perfectly fine without it. Game Pass is all about subscribing to a lot of games, including many AAA $60+ games. Let me know when Apple Music and Apple TV+ goes completely free.
It is like arguing "Want to listen to music on an iPhone? Gotta pay for Apple Music. Want to watch videos on your Macbook? Need to pay for Apple TV+ streaming service. Want to send an email? Gotta pay for an iCloud subscription. Want to use headphones with your Apple device? Guess you have to buy Airpods."
I'm using the baked-in free Outlook client right now (not the paid Office version) with both a free Outlook.com email and a Zoho email. The free Outlook.com email does show ads. The Exchange synced Zoho email isn't showing any ads.
The ads in Outlook are if you're using the free @outlook.com email address. I'm using it with a Zoho email account and I haven't seen ads.
Windows productivity software? Office? Obviously, it is a paid software suite. Always has been. No surprise they're not giving it away. It is not like this is some new thing behind a paywall suddenly. Sure, back in the day it was pretty common for an average home PC to come with at least some version of Microsoft Works, but technically that was an OEM-licensed basic productivity software suite, not actually free. In the end it was just that Dell, HP, Compaq, or whoever was paying for it to put it on the list of out of the box features.
More Copilot features for $20 a month? It is essentially a custom flavor of OpenAI with some more hooks and context. It is no surprise a hosted AI service that normally costs $20/mo continues to cost $20/mo.
You don't need Xbox Game Pass to play games in Windows. Steam, GOG, etc. all still work perfectly fine without it. Game Pass is all about subscribing to a lot of games, including many AAA $60+ games. Let me know when Apple Music and Apple TV+ goes completely free.
It is like arguing "Want to listen to music on an iPhone? Gotta pay for Apple Music. Want to watch videos on your Macbook? Need to pay for Apple TV+ streaming service. Want to send an email? Gotta pay for an iCloud subscription. Want to use headphones with your Apple device? Guess you have to buy Airpods."