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The trend in advertiser supported products and services continues with Idea Lab's latest startup. (see Subject 25299 and Subject 25307 for threads on advertiser supported isp and long distance services) After answering detailed demographic queries the "subscriber" waits to see whether they will be among the lucky 10,000 in the intial trial rollout. The Compaq computer ships with a 15" monitor set @ 1024x768 of which 800x600 is not advertising. The 4gig hard drive is split equally between advertising and user space. Netzero ( Subject 25299 ) provides the internet access. So, it seems the dynamics of communication services and products are on the verge of dramatic pricing structure change. What are your thoughts?! Also, here is the most complete article so far from wsj.com, I hope it doesn't bother our web(mistress still?!). Free-PC to Offer Free Computers In Exchange for Exposure to Ads By DON CLARK Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL A California company plans to distribute free computers to people who agree to share personal data about themselves and be exposed to Internet advertising. Free-PC.com, a closely held start-up founded by investor Bill Gross, plans to give away sub-$1,000 PCs that are manufactured by Compaq Computer Corp. and come with free Internet service. Consumers must agree to use them at least 10 hours a month and allow the machine to download advertising that is displayed in a strip on the right side of its screen. Mr. Gross said Barry Diller's USA Networks Inc. has agreed to supply $10 million of the firm's $30 million in initial funding and will be a prominent advertiser. Free-PC, one of several start-ups to be announced Monday at a conference called Demo 99, underscores the Web's impact on industry economics. Industry executives had predicted that falling PC prices would eventually lead to free machines, just as some cellular services give away handsets in exchange for recurring service fees. Paul Otellini, an executive vice president at Intel Corp., in January suggested that companies would experiment with giving away machines in exchange for a commitment for monthly Internet service. Mr. Gross argues that free hardware recently became feasible because Web customers are now valued at about $1,000 in potential advertising and transaction fees over several years, or more than the price of a PC. Free-PC may eventually command much more, he predicts, because users fill out initial applications that include demographic data to help generate finely targeted advertising. The advertisers can use the data to make special promotional offers; some ads can have video and other effects because they are stored on the PC hard drives, and can play more quickly than over telephone modems, Mr. Gross said. Free-PC faces several challenges, he acknowledged, including setting up facilities to install software and handle inventory. The Pasadena, Calif., company won't have to make huge hardware purchases up front, he said, because Compaq has agreed to finance the machines. Mr. Gross has started more than 20 companies through Idealab!, a Pasadena, Calif., investment company. He has ties to Mr. Diller through CitySearch, a collection of local Web guides that was started by Idealab and is now controlled by USA Networks. Mr. Gross said Compaq's AltaVista search service will also share a prominent advertising position, and other advertisers are being lined up through a deal with Cybergold Inc., a Web marketing firm in Berkeley, Calif. Free-PC is just one of the new ideas at Demo 99, a product showcase that opened Sunday in Indian Wells, Calif., and runs through Wednesday. Microsoft Corp., for example, plans to show a new version of its widely used Office desktop software. But some of the most unusual technology comes from start-ups. Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc., based in Montreal, is announcing an elaborate scheme to guarantee anonymity for PC users sending e-mail or visiting Web sites. It intends to sell online pseudonyms that neither the company nor Internet services can link to the people who purchased them. Austin Hill, the firm's president, said the technology would probably be used in online-discussion forums and countries that try to stifle political dissent, and comes with safeguards to prevent junk e-mail and other abuses. Hypercosm Inc., of Madison, Wis., will propose a new technology for adding interactive diagrams and other three-dimensional software to Web sites, which could help demonstrate products and educational concepts. The company, whose board includes virtual-reality innovator Jaron Lanier, has developed a programming language that can pack 3-D programs that ordinarily take up 1.5 million bytes of space into just 20,000 bytes, said Perry Kivolowitz, its president. Infra-Com Ltd., an Israeli start-up, will demonstrate a way to use the infrared communications common in TV remote controls to replace telephone cords and other wires, said Yaron Ruziak, the company's chairman. | ||||||||||||
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