Microsoft's Outlook.com subscription is officially available

Microsoft's paid take on email, Outlook.com Premium, is officially open for business: the company has quietly dropped the Preview label on its service, making it available to anyone in the US. Spend $50 per year ($20 if you act before March 31st) and you'll get an ad-free inbox, custom domain support for up to five users, info sharing between those people. You won't get the custom domain itself with your subscription, but Microsoft can do that for $10 per year if necessary.

As before, this isn't really intended for businesses -- it's for individuals and families who don't think a generic email account will cut it. If so, the outlay might be worthwhile. You can certainly get custom domains and advanced email elsewhere, but Microsoft is betting that the the simplicity and a familiar name will reel you in.