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In our 11/23/99 issue WebSkulker discussed how jr. skulkers in California and Oregon might be able to get a completely free computer monitor courtesy of Microsoft Network (MSN) and Viewsonic.  If you live in California or Oregon, please read that article first to get the general idea.  We now have an even better possibility:  $400's worth of any merchandise of your choice completely free, courtesy of MSN and Office Depot.  Also this one is even easier to get than the Viewsonic offer.

WebSkulker received a flyer from Office Depot today that has a headline "Save up to $400 on all your purchases when you join MSN Internet access."  The fine print says that you must sign up for three years of MSN access at $21.95 per month.  It appears that you sign up right there in the store, and they give you the $400 discount right there, but WebSkulker hasn't tried this so isn't exactly sure.  The fine print goes on to say that you can cancel the MSN subscription at any time, but if you cancel before the three years are up, you must immediately pay back the $400 .... "provided that if you are a resident of California or Oregon you will not be required to repay the credit amount."

Assuming that you sign up for MSN in the store and they give you the $400 discount right there, what would happen if you went home and immediately cancelled the subscription?  Hmmmmm.  Actually you would probably need to install the MSN software and sign in one time to actually establish the account, then call in to cancel it.  Or try using it for a while, then cancel it because you might well discover that it is no better than the free Internet account from FreeWWWeb we discussed in our 11/17/99 issue.  Or cancel it because you were shocked to discover that you can get the same MSN access at Costco for around $11.99 per month if you prepay 3 months in advance.  See:
http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=search.asp&srch=msn
Go to that page and click on the name of the product to see the details.  The details page loads funny; you may need to scroll up to see the beginning.

Another hmmmmmmm:  WebSkulker has the form for the Viewsonic rebate and notices that there is no limit of one-per-household, or anything like that.  It seems to be OK to get multiple $400 rebates as long as you purchase multiple monitors and establish a separate MSN account for each one.  It would be interesting if the detailed wording for the Office Depot rebate says the same thing.

Please do not take WebSkulker's word for any of this!  Read everything carefully yourself and make your own decision!  This information is for California and Oregon only!

http://www.thefreesite.com

http://www.freewareworld.com/freeware.html

These two sites offer lots of free stuff on the Internet.  The first was submitted by jr. skulker Royal Hargrove and has many categories of free stuff, including samples of real products that manufacturers will send you in the mail for free:
http://www.thefreesite.com/freesamples.htm

The second is devoted to freeware, i.e. totally free software, as opposed to shareware which technically is free to use for a while, but you are eventually supposed to pay a small amount to the author.
 

http://marslander.jpl.nasa.gov

Our 11/30/99 issue discussed a site submitted by Jr. Skulker Uncle Brucie about the Mars Polar Lander which is scheduled to land on Mars today at around noon, PST.  Uncle Brucie submitted a second site to us today which has even more information about the mission.  In his words: "You will find many links to things like: Live webcams at NASA, JPL, and all the other significant places.  A live webcam at JPL that you can control (pan and zoom). It has real-time sound as well. I don't know how it works, but works it does.  Many things concerning the landing on Friday, 3 December at 12:15 pm Pacific Standard Time.  Live pictures from the spacecraft (first black & white picture at 12:39).  And, for the first time, a MICROPHONE. This is so cool." 

http://www.acidtrip.com

Jr. Skulker JennyAnn submitted this site which does what the title implies.  Wait a while for each page to load and do its effect, then click on the appropriate spot (usually a spinning cube) to go to the next page.

Submitted by Jr. Skulker Michael Cohen

You might be an engineer if...

... choosing to buy flowers for your girlfriend or upgrading your RAM is a moral dilemma.

... you take a cruise so you can go on a personal tour of the engine room.

... the sales people at the local computer store can't answer any of your questions.

... you bought your wife a new CD-ROM drive for her birthday.

... you can quote scenes from any Monty Python movie.

... you can type 70 words per minute, but can't read your own handwriting.

... you comment to your wife that her straight hair is nice and parallel.

... you have saved every power cord from all your broken appliances.

... you have more friends on the Internet than in real life.

... you know what http:// stands for.

... you look forward to Christmas so you can put the kids' toys together.

... you see a good design and still have to change it.

... you window shop at Radio Shack.

... your laptop computer costs more than your car.

... your wife hasn't the foggiest idea of what you do at work.

... you've already calculated how much you make per second.

... you've tried to repair a $5 radio.

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