Encyclopedia Britannica's sales have fallen by more than 50 percent since 1990, after Microsoft began giving away its CD-ROM encyclopedia, Encarta, to personal computer buyers. Other losers include salespeople, such as investment brokers who have seen their commissions whither as more people join the rush to trade stocks online at discounted prices. Enjoy the bargains while they last. The Internet of tomorrow will continue to contain free things, but expect more sites to start charging for the most useful information. For example, an everyday leisure seeker might freely browse for information on skin diving, but an aficionado may have to pay for getting specific information.
Some Web sites run by newspapers provide today's news for free, but charge for older articles.
But it may not be a great loss, he adds. It's not like you can live off the free items. They just give you a taste of the products you like. Web sites devoted to free items A sampling of Web sites devoted to giving away products and services. We welcome your feedback.