Microsoft’s Slate to End Subscription Fee

Microsoft Corp.’s Internet-based Slate magazine will become a free World Wide Web site again, one year after the world’s largest software company said it would start charging $19.95 a year for access. The bulk of the magazine will be free to anyone with a Web browser, with refunds offered to subscribers wanting to cancel, according to an e-mail sent to Slate subscribers. The magazine will continue to charge $19.95 a year for some of Slate’s services, such as the magazine’s archives. Slate said paid subscriptions haven’t been as popular as the magazine expected. Most material on the Internet is free and Web sites make money by selling advertising or from electronic commerce.