But no longer. Microsoft has now introduced a free version of Internet Explorer 5. It is available on the Net in the MS download section. We have been conditioned to get lots of free stuff on the Net. You may have now seen multiple newspaper ads touting free or very low priced PCs.
Free hardware is something relatively new.
The ads are genuine but you have to scrutinize all the asterisks and fine print. The principle behind all these giveaways is to lure you in, and then to lock you up. This is often done by very reputable companies, and the results are not bad. The locking-in is not a nefarious scheme. The reward for the ISP is in the payments that are received from advertisers, not the money that you pay.