After dumping all original content and collecting what web properties it does have under a single domain name, Microsoft Corp has renamed its internet access service yet again. This time around, the Microsoft Network has been baptized as MSN Internet Access. Subscribers will be handed a vast bundle of Microsoft software, including Outlook Express, Microsoft Chat 2.5 and Internet Explorer 4.0. The fact that the browser will default to MSN.com, artificially hiking hits to Microsoft’s aggregated web domain and portal wannabee, is clearly no accident. As a sweetener, subscribers will also be given a free subscription to Beltway gossip mag Slate and premium services from Microsoft Investor. Plus, they’ll be a single click away from Microsoft Expedia, Microsoft CarPoint, Microsoft Sidewalk, Microsoft HomeAdvisor, MSNBC, Microsoft Money Insider and just in case that’s not enough Redmond-centric content, The Microsoft Plaza. Fortunately the real world should also download at a reasonable clip: MSN Internet Access will support v90 56Kbps modems across the United States, and has pledged itself to add new modems every month.
