MSN Direct to shut down in 2012

Didn't anyone at Microsoft get the memo that services like MSN Direct, which provides real-time traffic and other information to GPS navigation devices and other gadgets, is helping people save days of commute time every year?

Well Microsoft must not care how long you spend behind the wheel: MSN Direct is going away, according to the company, on January 1, 2012.

MSN Direct is best known for live traffic data it sends to GPS units, but it also includes weather reports and maps, stock quites, movie showtimes, flight information, and news snippets, all delivered over the FM radio band. But Microsoft says that surfeit of glittering information just wasn't enough to justify its continued existence, and that the same information delivered via other means (primarily cell phones) has cut into the demand for MSN Direct.

So, what if you've paid for an MSN Direct subscription beyond 2011? A pro-rated refund strategy is in the works, but complete details have yet to be announced. One thing is known: For consumers who purchased "lifetime" (or "One-Time Payment") subscriptions, well, that life will come to an abrupt end on January 1, 2012, whether your GPS unit continues to work or not. If you've had your service for three years or longer by that time, you will get no refund, otherwise you'll receive a pro-rated refund as if the service plan you bought had been three years long.

Lesson learned: "Lifetime" doesn't always mean what you think it does...

More details on the shutdown can be found here.