To be honest, I just assumed it would be a given. I think Microsoft were able to charge for it initially because the service was considerably better than PSN. But we as customers now expect to access online features such as Lovefilm and Facebook for free from any device. (Obviously with Lovefilm you pay a fee to Lovefilm, but you shouldnt have to pay a fee to give you access to the service you've already bought.)
If google started making you have to pay for a Gold Membership to access things like Skygo, Netflix and Lovefilm the world would go mad. Microsoft shouldn't be able to get away with it. I can understand them making consumers need a Gold Membership for gaming online, fair enough, but not third party apps which are free on PC. (Then again, online gaming is free on a PC too).
Huh, please explaine this to me.
To watch things such as Lovefilm and Netflix on your xbox you need to pay for a Gold Membership. So if Google charged you for a Gold Membership in Chrome for the browser to get access to such sites the world wouldn't be happy. Microsoft shouldn't charge you for using other companies services, is what i'm getting at.