September 8, 1999

This week's issue of What's Hot is a downloader's paradise.

It's devoted to the tons of FREE stuff you can find on the Web -- if you know where to look.

FREE SOFTWARE:
* DPS Journal (PC)
* MVP Word Search (PC)
* Family Tree Maker (PC)

LINKS FOR KIDS:
* Free 4 Kids
* Cats & Dogs Get a Break
* Zillions of Free Games!

LINKS FOR PARENTS:
* ZDNet's Daily Double Download -- Home/Hobbies
* E-Books for Everyone
* Scads of Window Files

LINKS FOR THE FAMILY:
* Coupons, coupons, and more coupons!
* Free Clothing and Accessories
* Free Magazines

SECOND TIME AROUND:
* K-12 Downloads -- Get in Gear for School!

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FREE STUFF FOR YOUR COMPUTER...

* DPS JOURNAL (PC): With DPS Journal's clean, well-organized interface, keeping a school, work or personal journal doesn't have to be a chore.

* MVP WORD SEARCH (PC): Work against the clock to find the hidden words in this fun, educational, and challenging word search game.

* FAMILY TREE MAKER (PC): Your family history can be as simple or complex as you like -- from basic information to detailed reports to a photo scrapbook. Family Tree Maker allows you to easily track and record facts, research notes, and to-do lists.

For more free software, visit our Shareware Center.Top
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LINKS FOR KIDS...

* FREE 4 KIDS: Here's a place where advertisers are falling all over themselves in a rush to get your attention -- free samples and promos are the name of the game. There's a bit of everything for every taste, including free toothbrushes and toothpaste, books, magazines, posters, circus tickets, refrigerator magnets, product samples, stamp pads, videos, coloring books, software, T-shirt, and lots more!

* CATS & DOGS GET A BREAK: Lots of free pet food samples along with the trinkets of pet-hood (colors, pet tags, chew toys, etc). You'll be able to feed Rover for months without spending a cent. Of course the poor pooch had better love variety ;-)

* ZILLIONS OF FREE GAMES! There are so many great free games on the Net, you might never have to buy one again. This site has done a good job of rounding up the best of the best and the freest of the free for easy downloading and great fun. Write-ups and descriptions are short, easy to read, and very useful! They tell us, "everything we list is well worth the download time..."

Sample Description:
Columns Millennium - Do you enjoy Tetris style games? Here's an addictive, freeware game in which you aim to line up three blocks of the same kind in various directions. Lots of cool features, including chain reactions, real-time rendered background effects, three difficulty levels and more. (For Windows 98/95) 4.2 megabytes.Top
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LINKS FOR PARENTS...

* ZDNet's DAILY DOUBLE DOWNLOAD -- HOME/HOBBIES: ZD tells us, "a download a day keeps the doldrums away." They may be right, but we have a hunch you'll end up with no space left on the hard drive after a month or so ;-) ZD does everything well, and these downloads are no exception. Check 'em out!

Typical Selection and Description:
All About Me: Keep track of your life and your family's life with All About Me. This program replaces baby books, school scrapbooks, and diaries, helping you record information on any number of different family members and friends. You'll find sections for birthdays, holidays, vacations, and first days of school, among other special occasions.

* E-BOOKS FOR EVERYONE: Download.com has collected a virtual library of free e-books for you and your kids. At last count they had 43 titles including: Aesop's  Fables, Chinese Fables, the Poems of William Blake, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Beatles Song Index, Guide to A Midsummer Night's Dream, and more.

NOTE: Parents, you might want to check out the booklist before turning the kids loose on this one -- along with great titles they've got a few, like the "Kama Sutra," that aren't exactly kid stuff.

* SCADS OF WINDOW FILES: If it's free and for Windows, you'll find it here -- hundreds of files, games, applications, and utilities to customize your Windows in ways Bill Gates never dreamed ;-) You'll find a fantastic selections of drivers, bug fixes, shareware, software reviews, and more. If you're running Windows, this site is a must-have in your bookmark file.Top
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LINKS FOR THE FAMILY...

* COUPONS, COUPONS, AND MORE COUPONS! If "clip & save" is part of your budget plan, take a look at this site. They've got thousands of dollars' worth of coupons ready to print and use. Newspaper coupons are usually good for a few cents off a product -- but e-coupons seem to specialize in slashing dollars off the final purchase price. If you're not a coupon clipper now, you might be after visiting this site ;-)

* FREE CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES: The Web weaves more than great links, it also weaves free clothes... but not quite enough for a complete wardrobe. Free garments that can be found online include: caps, beanies, t-shirts, hats, pantyhose, and sunglasses.

* FREE MAGAZINES: Although most aren't full-fledged free subscriptions, there's enough here to keep your coffee table buried or a doctor's waiting room well-stocked. Free magazines include: Internet World, Horticulture Magazine, Rolling Stone, Wired Magazine, Fast Company, Money Magazine, US New and World Report, PC Magazine and more.Top
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* WANT MORE GREAT LINKS?
Check out the What's Hot Library for past issues.

SECOND TIME AROUND: Last Week's Hottest Link

Just in case you missed it, here's last week's most popular hotlink (based upon member usage).

* K-12 DOWNLOADS -- Get in Gear for School! Get your kids (and your computer) ready for the school year with great skill-building and organizing software. Download these for free! Skill-building computer programs include:
 * Roxie's Reading Fish (PC)
 * Animated Arithmetic (PC)
 * Neighborhood MapMachine (PC and Mac)
 * Know Your States (PC and Mac)
 * ...and more!Top
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