Starting December 6th 2012 there is no more free Google Apps. If someone wants Google to handle mail for his domain, he can now expect hefty yearly charge of $50 per user.
All current users of free Google Apps should probably start searching for new home since I don't expect this status quo to last. My assumption is that existing users will start getting "pay up or get lost" mails pretty soon. For family of four this means $200 if you want to continue using it or dealing with account migration. Lets hope that Google's "Don't be evil" motto will prevent this extortion-style scenario from happening.
This unfortunate turn of events just comes to show how living in cloud leaves you in mercy of your hosting company. There is no such things as a free lunch.
Yup