Microsoft is once again bundling Solitaire with Windows, but if you want an ad-free experience then that's going to cost you.

The app in question is the Microsoft Solitaire app, and as first reported by PC World, the app prompts users to "upgrade" to the premium version for $1.49 a month (or $9.99 a year) to remove the ads and get some "coins" and "power boosts."

A similar system existed in Windows 8/8.1, but the game wasn't bundled with the operating system and was a separate download.

With Windows 10 being offered to so many people as a freebie, it's natural that Microsoft will want to explore other revenue streams. Ads, and paying for their removal, is an obvious revenue stream, but from what I can tell this ad-ladened bundle will also ship with OEM and paid-for copies of Windows 10. So not only do you get to experience the joy of paying for the operating system, you also get the adware version of Solitaire.

The other advantage for Microsoft is that the more people it can get signed up to the app store with a payment method, the more likely they are to spend.

Whether you love this approach or loathe it entirely will come down to personal preference. Some will say that it's a small price to pay for an entire operating system (assuming they didn't pay for that operating system in the first place). Others will feel that $1.49 per month or $9.99 a year just to remove ads from an app is pretty steep. And it's not like Apple isn't trying to nickel and dime customers with iCloud subscriptions and music subscriptions. For example, 20GB of extra iCloud storage costs $0.99 a month.

I've no issue with the ad-based business model, and I feel that the way that the ads are displayed in Solitaire app isn't overly annoying (it's just a full-screen when you first load the game). But I also remember the MSN/Windows Live Messenger days and the seizure-inducing ads that program used to display. I wouldn't like to see those make their way into the Start menu or onto the desktop.

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