visit steamtunnels.net for links to all these sites and more.
SPECIAL
FEATURE
Phone Home-For Free!
Use the web to make free long distance phone calls.
by Tamar Maor
Sick of spending
money on phone
calls each month?
Try getting your long dis
tance for free. Yes, free.
Make calls over the web
and save money.
There are two ways to
get long distance calls for
free: either use a program
where you speak through your computer
to a phone, or earn calling card minutes
by listening to advertisements before or
during your call.
The site that offers the best service
is MyfreeLD.com (myfreeLD.com).
They provide no-charge long distance
service to the U.S., U.K., France, the
Netherlands and Switzerland. If you
have friends around the world this is
the only site that offers such a large
selection of countries in their service.
First make sure you have their system
requirements. You’ll need Microsoft’s
NetMeeting, which you can download
for no charge at microsoft.com/
windows/netmeeting. After installing
NetMeeting and registering, there’s no
limit on the number of calls you make,
or how long you speak.
Phonefree (phonefree.com) also
requires a software download and reg
istration, but you receive many free
services in exchange. They offer PC-to
phone calling in the U.S., PC-to-PC
voice calling anywhere in the world,
voice mail, and file and picture transfer.
If you’d rather not put more pro
grams on your computer, there are sev
eral options that don’t require down
loads. Mediaring has a free PC to phone
service (freecails.mediaring.com)
where you just make calls directly off
their site. You can call the U.S., Canada,
or China. Another site that offers web
based service is Dialpad
(dialpad.com). All you
have to do is register, and
then use their Java-based
program to make all the
calls you want.
The one problem
with making PC-to
phone calls is the poor
sound quality, especially
if you’re using the microphone and
speaker from your computer. If you’re
planning on using web-calling as your
primary mode of making calls, invest in
a headset—purchase one online or at
your local computer store—and your
sound quality will improve.
If talking through your computer
doesn’t satisfy that need to nuzzle the
telephone between your shoulder and
ear, all is not lost. Direct your browser
to Speak4Free (Speak4free.com).
Ready to make your phone call? Enter
your number and the number you’re
calling. Your phone will ring and you’ll
hear a short audio ad before being con
nected with your friend. The call is limit
ed to five minutes, but you can make as
many as you wish.
To make a longer phone call,
Broadpoint (Broadpoint.com) is the
service you should use. Listen to as
many 10-15 second ads as you wish—
each earns you two minutes of tele
phone talk time—before you make
your call. You can only earn two hours
a month, but how you divide your two
hours is up to you.
Next time you pick up the phone to
call your friends across the country,
you might consider using an Internet
based long distance service instead.
With all the money you save you might
be able to buy a plane ticket and see
them in person! •
women
iUillage
iUillage.com
It was only a few years ago that men dominated
the Internet, but now men and women travel the
information superhighway in nearly equal pro
portions. However they’re often headed in dif
ferent directions. Right now, the most popular
Internet site for women is iVillage.com. The site
is so heavily trafficked, its nearly 6 million
unique visitors per month outnumber even
ESPN.com and USA Today Online. With channels
of information such as Health, Beauty, Fitness,
Money and Relationships, iVillage is the com
plete destination site for women.
music
musicmaker
musicmaker.com
Imagine being able to order music directly from
a recording studio:
“I’ll take some Smashmouth, the new Santana,
and a little Coltrane.”
“Do you want any Strauss with that?”
With today’s eclectic tastes, it is often hard to
find the CD that is just right. Musicmaker.com
makes the search a little easier. Their 200,000+
database of songs (everything from Beethoven
to Britney Spears) offers just that—the tunes
you want minus the industry filler. It is a sleek,
easy-to-navigate site that keeps prices low
(helping to defray the unfortunate shipping
charge), and offers a secure server for all trans
actions. Musicmaker assures you that with a few
simple steps and clicks, you’ll be hearing only
the music you want on your custom-made com
pact disc. MDougherty
search enGine
magellan
magellan.eKdte.com
A new type of search engine that provides an
even more comprehensive way of finding things
on the web. With new technology, Magellan is