Microsoft has stopped accepting new registrations for its free Custom Domains service, effective immediately. The move was announced today on the Windows Live Admin Center page, where users manage custom email addresses. Microsoft says they will continue to support existing custom email addresses “indefinitely.”
See zdnet.com for more details.
In a devastating move, Google has ended their free Google Apps service for custom domains. Without warning and effective immediately, Google has decided that those who want to sign up for Google Apps from this point on will have to pay $60/year for each user account for the business version. This is the end of an era of amazing free software. So far Google’s statements indicate that those who are already using Google Apps free version (which includes all of our customers up until today) will be able to continue to do so. So at least there’s that. Here is Google’s announcement…
Hello from Google,Here’s some important news about Google Apps—but don’t worry, there’s no need for you to take any action. We just want you to know that we’re making a change to the packages we offer.
Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new sign-ups for the free version of Google Apps (the version you’re currently using). Because you’re already a customer, this change has no impact on your service, and you can continue to use Google Apps for free.
Should you ever want to upgrade to Google Apps for Business, you’ll enjoy benefits such as 24/7 customer support, a 25 GB inbox, business controls, our 99.9% uptime guarantee, unlimited users and more for just $5 per user, per month.
You can learn more about this change in our Help Center or on the Enterprise Blog.
Thank you for using Google Apps.
Clay Bavor
Director, Google Apps
