Guess What Windows Vista Reader Is No Longer Free

The New York Times is a landmark in the landscape of modern journalism, and with Windows Vista, the newspaper has truly stepped into the digital era. Times Reader is an application based on the Windows presentation foundation in Vista and it is designed to enhance the reading experience of The New York Times booth online and offline.

Times Reader was publicized and promoted intensively throughout the testing stages. But it simply proved too good to be true. The final version of Times Reader will not deliver content from The New York Times free onto your Windows Vista desktop. On March 14, 2007, Times Reader Beta Testers were informed of this via an email.

"This note is to let you know that the beta period will be ending in two weeks. Times Reader will launch as a subscription service on March 27. It will cost $14.95 a month or $165 a year and will include access to TimesSelect and Premium Crosswords. Times Reader will be free to home delivery subscribers, including 7-day, weekend, Sunday only, weekday only, Book Review only, Large Type Weekly subscribers, and those who receive the special education rate," informed Rob Larson, Vice President, Product Management and Development NYTimes.

This is an example of how the Microsoft universe dramatically differs from the Google business. While Google promotes the Software as a Service strategy and lets third-parties deal with the inherent costs, Microsoft will perpetually make users pay for Software plus Service. Only time will tell if these two business strategies can coexist or if users prefer one over the other.