Microsoft will be shrewd about pricing and marketing its Web services to make the notion of paying palatable to users. A primary incentive could come in the form of support. By rights, Web-based applications should create fewer support issues. They are simpler to use. And they can be accessed from any computer, as opposed to the nightmare of trying to synchronize files and mail among multiple devices.
Web applications can make a huge contribution by reducing support problems.
Paul Andrews is a Seattle-based writer and longtime observer of the technology industry.