Looks like Rupert Murdoch wears a cape after all.
News Corp.'s
"Previously, each click from a user would be treated as free. Now, we've updated the program so that publishers can limit users to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing," wrote Google product manager Josh Cohen in this blog post.
That's an improvement, and it means The Big G took Murdoch's threat of an exclusive indexing deal with Microsoft's
On the other hand, First Click Free could prove to be extremely attractive to newspapers and magazines that have yet to charge for their digital content. New York Times Co.
That could prove to be a welcome development for those still struggling with the do-we-or-don't-we decision of charging for digital content. And for Google, it has the added benefit of putting Microsoft back on the defensive.
In other words: Murdoch wins, but so does Google. Think I'm wrong? Missed part of the story? Sound off in the comments box below.