Those Free PC Offers Are Real

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 9, 1999 / 7:23 PM EDT / CBS

If you've been shopping for a computer, you know just how expensive they can be. Well, how would you like a free one?

Free PC deals have been in the news a lot lately. Most offers, however, involve rebate programs that Internet service providers (ISPs) give consumers who sign up for service or come with other strings attached.

Robin Raskin of Family PC magazine advised consumers on CBS News This Morning to look for a PC with a pentium processor and some disk space for the whole family. Make sure there's customer support, she pointed out. Many companies provide three-year warranties, but a lot of the "free" computers may have only 90-day warranties.

Here are Raskin's comments about some free or almost-free computer offers:

Free-PC www.free-pc.com

You get a free PC in exchange for looking at ads.
The PC company tracks you as you shop but says it won't use this information on a personal level, Raskin said. Some people actually like getting ads that reflect their interests.

MSN HomeAdvisor homeadvisor.msn.com

When you buy a mortgage, you get a PC.
This is like getting a toaster from the bank, Raskin said, adding that she expects we'll see more schemes like this for vacations and car purchases. You're spending $125,000; why shouldn't the company give you something?

Emachines www.e4me.com

This is an example of the "almost-free" deal.
These are not top-of-the-line machines, Raskin said. But Emachines were tested in her magazine's lab and work quite well, she added. They would not be appropriate for someone at the cutting edge of gaming and video editing but work fine for surfing the Internet and writing letters.

Enchilada www.enchilada.com

You buy an ISP contract and get a free PC. This is a lot like the cell phone business and cable television, Raskin said. You sign up; they come with a box. You spend $799 for the ISP contract, which is about the cost of a PC.