No Car Stuff, BUT LOOK!

["Romeo Shayne Pavlic'" <bcpi@arias.net>]

No car stuff, but had to pass it along.

Shayne.




Yahoo! News Technology Headlines  
> 
>
>Monday February 8 1:15 PM ET 
>
>Web Entrepreneur To Give Away PCs, Make Money On Ads
>PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) - A well-connected Internet entrepreneur Monday
>said he plans to give away personal computers in exchange for consumers
>accepting targeting advertising on their computer screens.
>
>Idealab!, the investment vehicle of venture capitalist Bill Gross, said he had
>introduced Free-PC Inc., a company that plans to offer consumers a Compaq
>Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) personal computer, Internet access and
>electronic mail -- all for free -- in exchange for viewing targeted
>advertising.
>
>In a statement, Idealab! said Barry Diller's USA Networks Inc. had agreed to
>invest $10 million and link its series of Internet-related properties to the
>Free PC service.
>
>Free-PC plans to begin offering Compaq Presario Internet PCs with a range of
>Internet media and communications services from Compaq's Alta Vista Internet
>unit. It said it will give away 10,000 units to qualified customers in the
>second quarter.
>
>The move is designed to capitalize on falling computer prices and widespread
>hunger among consumers for Internet links and is expected to be followed by a
>wave of similar services to be introduced later this year, the company said.
>
>It reflects the transition of consumer PCs into low-cost consumer electronics
>devices in which a new class of PC service providers give away their equipment
>and try to make money through services available through the boxes, just as
>phone and cable companies do with cell phones or cable-TV equipment.
>
>``Free-PC is the breakthrough first product to start an inevitable trend,''
>Bill Gross, chief executive of idealab! said in the statement. ``Set-top cable
>boxes have been free for a long time and now cell phones are virtually free.
>
>Free access to the Internet and free e-mail services will be provided by
>privately held NetZero. Consumers can apply for a Free-PC at http://www.free-
>pc.com.
>
>The machines to be given away include a 333-megahertz computer chip, a 15-inch
>color monitor and 32 megabytes of memory -- enough to run standard Windows
>98-based programs smoothly -- according to the Free-PC Web site. The PCs come
>with a 33,600-bit-per-second modem to connect to the Internet.
>
>Free-PC plans to link to USA Networks Web sites, including Ticketmaster
>Online-CitySearch Inc., Internet Shopping Network/First Auction and the Home
>Shopping Network.
>
>When consumers apply for a Free-PC, they will be asked to fill out a detailed
>questionnaire that provides the company with typical demographic data, such as
>age, income and family status and information about personal tastes and
>interests.
>
>The information is used to determine which advertisements are displayed,
>increasing the likelihood that the ads are relevant to consumers, while
>assuring corporate sponsors that their ads are reaching highly qualified
>consumers.
>
>A demonstration screen on the Free-PC Web site had a range of five or so
>billboard-like ads arrayed down the right side of a computer desktop window.
>
>Free-PC is the latest business to be spun-out of idealab!, which bills itself
>as an incubator of Internet companies.
>
>Since 1996, idealab! has developed more than 20 businesses including
>CitySearch, an Internet-based local information service that is now owned by
>USA Networks and GoTo.com, a Web search directory, and eToys, the leading
>online toy retailer. 
>
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