Hotmail Merges With Microsoft

Staff -- Library Journal, 1/14/1998

Hotmail, a free web-based E-mail service used by non-profit organizations, including schools and libraries, is merging with the Microsoft Corp., according to Hotmail President and CEO Sabeer Bhatia. Although announcement of the deal triggered speculation on library listservs whether Hotmail would remain a free service, a web-based letter to Hotmail users by Bhatia attempts to allay their concerns. "The basic Hotmail service will always be free," promised Bhatia. "While we will offer premiumservices for a modest charge from time to time, Hotmail email remains free--just as it has always been." Bhatia also said that existing services will remain and that users' individual E-mail addresses will not change. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.