Best free stuff online: Freeware and Comms

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March 27, 2000
Web posted at: 12:47 p.m. EST (1747 GMT)

by Glenn McDonald and Greg Holden

(IDG) -- So much free stuff, so little time. It's no secret that a tremendous number of freebies -- applications, services, and sites -- are available on the Web, with more offerings cropping up all the time. There's a real noise problem out there, and it's only getting worse.

The trick is to tune out all the promotional chatter and get to the valuable stuff quickly. But to find the good giveaways, you often have to waste time rummaging through heaps of ill-conceived, poorly executed, and just plain useless stuff. (Well, sometimes we like the useless stuff -- we kiss you, too, Mahir!) In fact, we did a fair bit of slogging to find the items listed here.

	ALSO
Monday: Best freeware and communications freebies Tuesday: Best health, reference and advice sites Wednesday: Best sites for consumers Thursday: Best entertainment sites & sites that pay you Friday: Top 10 most popular downloads

This time around, we searched for innovative or little-known free stuff that leverages the Net's strengths of interactivity and multimedia capabilities. Evite.com, for instance, offers a simple new way of performing a previously tedious "offline" task (managing invites for group gatherings). Other offerings include downloads of free business apps and a service that lets you access your medical records from anywhere in the world. (Advertising supports most of these services.)

But who says the Internet has to be all work? Sometimes we just want to waste time on the Net. So we also offer a few of the best online time-killers -- diversionary enterprises like the brilliant TrailerVision and the bizarre masterpiece What's Inside Jeremy's Wallet? We think of everything.

This is an ingenious little program that sits quietly in your system tray, monitoring RAM usage as you work. When available memory dips below a user-defined level, RamBooster clears out trash from applications you've closed -- speeding up performance and helping prevent system crashes. It works as well as commercial competitors and is very compact -- only 618KB once installed.

Ram charger: RamBooster

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Open sesame: PassKeeper

Having trouble keeping track of all the passwords you use to access Web sites and e-mail accounts? This convenient program gives you a secure place to store all your log-in information. In addition, it encrypts passwords and IDs so that no one can peek at them, and the program itself requires a password for entry.

Web call forwarding: CallWave

If you have only one phone line and don't want to miss calls while you're surfing the Net, try out CallWave. An advertising-supported freeware program, CallWave forwards incoming calls to a toll-free number when you're online. Callers leave a voice-mail message that is then converted to an audio file and sent to you immediately via the Internet. CallWave alerts you that a message has arrived by flashing its on-screen ad window, which you must leave open while you're online. You can choose to either play the message while you're still on the Internet or log off to return the call. One catch: Although the application is free, you have to subscribe to your local telephone company's call-forwarding service -- and that means paying a monthly fee of $3 to $5.

Fight for your right to e-party: Evite

This Web tool puts the RSVP into HTML. Using a simple Web-page form, you can send out e-mail invitations to numerous recipients, who are then directed to your Evite RSVP page. There are standard templates for more than a dozen types of events, such as movies, dinner parties, happy hours, or even online functions -- such as a fund-raiser or group chat. Recipients reply by checking off a box, and they can also add extra messages or comments. Discriminating partyers can view a list of other attendees before committing. Plus, Evite provides maps, door-to-door directions, weather forecasts, and the all-important BYOB option.

Making a list: Onelist

Mailing lists -- which allow ongoing digital correspondence among any number of participants -- were among the first Internet tools to take off, and for good reason. With little effort, you can design a list for one-step e-mailing and event posting among friends, business colleagues, or groups with common interests. There are many good list-hosting services out there, but Onelist has the best overall design and features, including file sharing, message archives, and calendar functions. Once your list is up and running, members can send mail to its address, and their messages will be forwarded to all other members of that list. You can also join any of Onelist's more than 280,000 public lists (which are arranged by category). Commercial services pay the bills for Onelist by placing inconspicuous text ads at the bottom of e-mail dispatches. Onelist will be merging with EGroups in May, but you can still access the site through the Onelist URL.

Who loves ya, baby: Egreetings

What better way is there to send a message to your significant other than using Barry White as your emissary? Like other card sites, Egreetings offers a number of free electronic messages in various categories; but this site also includes cards with popular music, such as the mood-setting number that features an animated log fire and Barry White singing "I Get Off on You." For that other demographic in your household, there are also cards featuring teen crooner Christina Aguilera or the alternative band Garbage.

See me, hear me: Visitalk

Less than a year old, Visitalk is an online switchboard designed to let you see, hear, and talk to people anywhere in the world via your PC. When you sign up for Visitalk's free services, you're issued an Internet phone number that allows you to send and receive instant voice messages while online, using Visitalk's free software. You can also set up direct, one-on-one videoconferencing using existing programs such as Microsoft NetMeeting or White Pine's CU-SeeMe. The BuddyChat feature allows voice or video calls for up to four people. You'll need a sound card, speakers, and a microphone, plus a videocam for videoconferencing.

Follow your calling: EVoice

Like other Web-based voice-mail messaging services, EVoice can collect phone messages while you're on the Internet, then e-mail them to you as WAV audio attachments. But EVoice can also be set up to work with your local phone company's voice-mail feature. Messages will continue to go into your voice-mail box, but you'll also receive notice via e-mail when they arrive. Callers can either leave messages at your regular phone number or at the 800 number that EVoice assigns you. Then you may check messages by phone using your EVoice access number, collect them from the EVoice Web site, or have them sent to your e-mail account as audio files. You'll need a computer with a sound card and speakers to listen to the audio files, plus RealAudio or Microsoft Windows Media Player. The only drawback (there had to be one): Before you receive your batch of messages, you have to listen to a 15-second advertising spiel.

Go postal: Postage4Free

Franking (sending mail for free) isn't just for members of the U.S. Congress anymore. Fill out a detailed marketing survey at this site (requesting information such as the car you drive, your long-distance phone service, hobbies, and annual income) and you'll receive ten envelopes, each with 33 cents of postage attached. You'll also receive coupons tailored to your survey answers. You can reorder another set of prepaid envelopes every two or three months when you verify or update the marketing survey. What's the catch? In exchange for surrendering that personal information, you get envelopes with ads printed on them. They may not be ideal for job applications or letters to your sweetheart, but you could use them for paying bills.

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