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INTERNET INFO FOR REAL PEOPLE: The Free Website On The Net

By Bob Brand

Free is one of those magic words that grab everyone's attention. As described

in previous articles, there is free e-mail, FAX, Internet access, music, FAX

to e-mail and more. When it comes to the Web, individuals have learned to read

the fine print. A "strings attached" feature of many freebies usually means

viewing advertising. In some cases, it may also mean revealing personal

information and enduring assaults on privacy. Often this results in a

compromise where some, but not all, information about Net purchases and sites

visited is revealed.

The fiercely competitive nature of "Web turf" receives no clearer definition

than the huge losses absorbed by Amazon.com in bringing inexpensive books (and

now other items) to a surfer's doorstep. Frankly, many companies on the Web

find that a large volume of red ink is required as a prerequisite to

establishing a secure beachhead in cyberland.

An Interesting Site

The FreeSite (http://www.thefreesite.com) offers unusually strong fare on

first-rate free items. With 25 freebie categories ranging from anonymous tools

to Webspace (and almost everything in between; this place is a "must visit").

When it comes to free e-mail, there are almost too many sites to count. It

seems that every cheesy player on the Web offers "free e-mail." The FreeSite

not only selects the better free providers but also gives important insight

through snapshot review of offerings.

"Free software" comes with the hidden costs: time/effort investment of

downloading, installing, registering (including the hassle of entering user ID

and yet another password) and learning the "cyber gift." There are no "small

problems" when it comes to the Internet. Any snafu robs the surfer of valuable

time better spent reading e-mail or window shopping at eBay. Comments gleaned

from the FreeSite helps navigate through a minefield of potential disasters.

A Web-Barometer

GeoCites (now part of the Yahoo Empire) pioneered the concept of free disk

space on the server for a free Website. The FreeSite reviews 18 other

locations providing similar services. When GeoCites started, they gave out 5

MB (megabytes) of space. To date, GeoCites boasts 3.5 million "Homesteaders."

Frankly, I have zero GeoCites Websites in my favorites/bookmarks.

Nevertheless, amateur Webhosting remains a popular offering on the web. In

fact, some of these Webhosts keep falling over themselves in order to outdo

competitors. One site, for example, offers a whopping 50 MB (appropriately

named: 50megs.com) of free space. Only a few years ago I used a 286 computer

with a 10 MB hard drive capacity!

FreeSite describes this location as "a solid, reliable new Web hoster..."

Needless to say with the vast abundance of free Website utilities -- HTML

editors, icons, banner ads, sounds, graphics and more -- the explosive growth

of a changing Net is constantly energized by rich tool sets.

Free Internet Access

The FreeSite keeps track of the reigning free Internet access provider,

Netzero.com. Through June 1999, Netzero has 1.17 million registered users

according to a mid-July news release. Tritium.net, as reviewed by the

FreeSite, seems to be making a comeback. In addition, a new player, Freei.net

has hit the scene. Netzero holds the benchmark which other free service must

surpass in order to grab a piece of the Web's short attention span.

Worth A Long Visit

The FreeSite has many interesting Websites reviewed with surprising candor.

Surprises abound everywhere, hence the site is worthy of many revisits. Highly

recommended.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.thefreesite.com/

http://50megs.com

http://tritium.net/

http://go.freei.net/

NOTE: This is the 164th of a series of elementary articles designed for

surfing the Internet. Next, JUNO 3.0 Update is the subject on tap. Stay tuned.

Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet

Info for Real People can be found:

http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions:

rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.