Microsoft 365 Price Rises Are Coming - Pay Up or Opt Out (theregister.com) 27
An anonymous reader shares a report: Users are now receiving notifications regarding their Microsoft 365 subscriptions and must take action if they wish to avoid Copilot and its extra charges.
The email from Microsoft warns that the cost of a 365 Personal Subscription will jump, however, there is no need to worry -- Microsoft knows what's best and will increase your payment in return for all those AI-powered Copilot services it knows you want.
We noted the upcoming increases last month and how users could turn off the generative AI assistant. At the time, Microsoft said users would be able to switch to plans without Copilot. However, unless a user takes action, the price they pay for their "Current Subscription" will increase, and AI-powered delights will be added to their plan.
The email from Microsoft warns that the cost of a 365 Personal Subscription will jump, however, there is no need to worry -- Microsoft knows what's best and will increase your payment in return for all those AI-powered Copilot services it knows you want.
We noted the upcoming increases last month and how users could turn off the generative AI assistant. At the time, Microsoft said users would be able to switch to plans without Copilot. However, unless a user takes action, the price they pay for their "Current Subscription" will increase, and AI-powered delights will be added to their plan.
Or don't opt in ... (Score:4)
... in the first place. This is what I would call "the professional strategy". :-)
Re: (Score:1)
Some country will abstain (Score:2)
Speculation - A large country will abstain from cloud Office 365, use a desktop verison and demand a sysadmin way to disable it's cloud connections.
Re: Or don't opt in ... (Score:2)
Re: Or don't opt in ... (Score:2)
Or move to the industrialized third world country your coworkers just escaped from. Live like a
spy on per diem, struggling each day, until you get your first black market laptop. Then you work on the beach.
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My moderator points just ran out. Someone mod this up Insightful
see (Score:2)
I can imagine a future... (Score:2)
...when an AI assistant will be useful.
Current chatbots provide no benefit to me.
If the stuff being offered by Microsoft is useful, there will be demand for it.
I'm always skeptical of something that's forced on me, especially if I can't disable it
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I'm looking forward to the day when CoPilot becomes self-aware.
When I tell it how worthless it is I want it to feel ashamed.
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I have found Chatgpt insanely useful as an interactive "for dummies" book. If I need to get familiar with a topic that is new to me, the process is much faster that it used to be.
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! (Score:5, Funny)
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further." -Microsoft
Who didn't see this coming? Anyone?
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They're just copying Google, which did the same thing in Workspace. Added Gemini, without notice or asking permission, then raised their price because it included Gemini. (Which you can't turn off without going through their support desk to get those settings un-hidden in the admin panel. Which took three days because they clearly had no idea what I was talking about, despite thousands of other customers asking the same thing.
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This deal is getting worse all the time!
"Opt out" (Score:2)
In order to "opt out" I would need to "opt in" to begin with.
I don't use that crap, and neither does anyone at my company, or the company I worked at previously, or the one previous to that.
None of these organizations want to sign up for paying future ransom to Microsoft.
Re: "Opt out" (Score:2)
What I wish would happen is... (Score:3)
... that some security researcher find a massive security bug in Microsoft's product, and instead of getting the bug bounty, hold it hostage until MS reverses it's "opt-out" policy into an "opt-in only" policy, else the vulnerability is released into the wild. And give them only 5 days to implement it.
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Oh, because Microsoft is totally unable to pretend to consent to the change, and not revert the TOS as soon as the bug fix is resolved? The expectation that they wouldn't unwind the change immediately seems a bit naive.
You'd need something much stronger than a vulnerability, you'd need to gain permanent data blackmail advantage to get that kind of change to last.
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I'm sure the FBI wouldn't mind and extortion scheme like that. No, not at all.
Prices going up (Score:1)
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Same as Gemini on Gmail. Literally, the same thing.
Clippy2 is like Trump2 (Score:5, Funny)
...second term is angrier and pushier.
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Either way, click a preference box and it goes away. A minor annoyance. What's the big deal?
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As opposed to Google Workspace, which has a clearly marked link to "Generative AI" in the admin panel. Which has nothing in it because those settings are hidden until you contact their help(less) desk to make them visible. Which takes three days because they didn't get their help(less) desk people any more notice this was coming than they did customers.
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Move fast! Break things!
Copilot Junk Fee (Score:2)
And in the EU? (Score:2)
I wonder if this doesn't conflict with EU law.
Something about unapproved optional changes to a product and then demanding more money.