Xbox , Gamecube, or Nintendo DS?!

Thanks to three people I don't know, and one I traded with on the excellent Gear Live Quick Trade board, I now have all four referrals needed for Freegamesystems.com, which means I'll be receiving a free Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, or Nintendo DS in the mail soon. Hooray!

Of course, now I have to choose which one I want. I already have a PS2. The Xbox and the DS, though, don't really have any games that appeal to me. I think I might go with the Gamecube. (I know the Gamecube is $100 less than the other systems, but c'mon... it's FREE!) Too bad it doesn't come with Donkey Konga!

(If any of you are currently signed up for Freegamesystems.com, and would like your referral number featured on here, just sign up for one of my offers (freeflatscreens or freeminimacs), e-mail your info, and once you "go green", I'll put your number in the rotating banner ad at the top of the page.)

Free Mini Macs

Boy, those Gratis folks sure get to work in a hurry, don't they? Sign up for your very own, brand-new, free Mini Mac (or is Mac Mini?) now!

Apple unveils $499 Mac Mini PC

I wonder how long until Gratis starts giving away these babies?

SAN FRANCISCO--Apple confirmed the upcoming release of a $499 computer aimed to increase its audience beyond the Mac faithful.

Apple chief Steve Jobs announced the Mac mini Tuesday at the Macworld trade show. There are two versions of the mini--both without keyboards, monitors or mice--that will be available starting Jan. 22 for $499 and $550.

"This is the most affordable Mac ever," Jobs said. "People who are thinking of switching will have no more excuses."

The white box resembles a thick notebook computer--measuring 6.5 inches wide and 2 inches thick--and includes a slot loading combination DVD- and CD-ROM drive, 256MB of memory, 32MB of video memory, and a series of ports (including a FireWire port, two USB ports, DVI output and VGA output).

The $499 Mac mini comes with a 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 processor and a 40GB hard drive while the $550 Mac mini comes with a 1.42GHz processor and an 80GB hard drive.

from ZDNET

Free iPods in the news

From the New York Times:

Gratis Internet, a Web marketer based in Washington, has developed a system in which it buys pricey products like iPods--Freeipods.com--and gives them away. To receive the iPod, participants are asked to sign up for one of about 10 different offers and to persuade five others to do the same. They have developed similar programs giving out $700 desktop computers (Freedesktoppc.com), $800 flat-screen televisions (Freeflatscreens.com) and high-end designer handbags (Freehandbags.com). The main difference between the offers is how many others must be signed up for the main participant to receive the "free" merchandise. Its customers include Time Warner's AOL; BMG Music Service, a CD club owned by Bertelsmann; and USA Today, which is owned by the Gannett Company.

Rob Jewell, co-founder of Gratis, says the company gives away 500 iPods a week. It posted revenue of nearly $5 million in 2003 and expects that to hit $15 million for 2004, he said.

"It's a very cost-effective way for advertisers to attract new customers," said Jewell, who is 27, "and it's good for consumers as well because they're getting a piece of that."

Read the rest here.

Help!

Is all this free iPod hysteria making your head spin? Can't make up your mind which offer to choose? Here are some helpful resources, courtesy of Ratetheoffers.com:

RateTheOffers.com
(http://www.ratetheoffers.com/)
View user ratings about each offer so you know which one is the best for you!

Wired Article about FreeiPods.com
(http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,64614,00.html)
Wired, a respected tech new source, reports on the free ipod phenomenon and its legitimacy

FreeiPodGuide.com
(http://www.freeipodguide.com/)
The original free ipod guide. Help, proof pics, links, news, etc.

Gratis Internet
(http://www.gratisinternet.com/)
This is the company that runs the free product sites. You can visit here to see that they are a legit company

Is this for real?

Yes, it's for real.

I didn't believe it at first either: A free iPod? No way. But then I read this article in Wired:

Unless you're extremely gullible, the promise of getting a free iPod from FreeiPods.com looks extremely dubious.

But surprisingly, the site appears to be legitimate. The program almost certainly isn't a dodgy pyramid scheme; it's a new form of online marketing supported by companies like eBay, AOL and Columbia House.

And while lots of happy customers are popping up all over the internet brandishing new iPods, analysts are skeptical of the economics.

Here's how it works: FreeiPods.com promises an iPod or a $250 gift certificate to anyone who signs up for various online promotions and persuades five other people to participate.

Subscribers are given a choice of 10 different offers, including a 45-day trial of AOL and a two-week trial of Ancestry.com's genealogy service. Typically, the offers are free and easily canceled.

Once the trials are over -- for both the main subscriber and the referrals -- the free iPod is dispatched.

Read the rest here.

So, after reading the article I thought I'd give it a try. I signed up for the free Blockbuster offer, watched some free movies for a couple of weeks, and then cancelled my account right before the free two-week trail ended. After that, I sent out some e-mails to a few friends, and put up ads on my Sonics Blog and Video Game Blog.

A few weeks later...Viola! I'm now the proud owner of a 20GB iPod. For free.

I got my iPod! How about you?

Look what the mailman brought: my free iPod! To be honest, I wasn't 100% sure it would ever arrive. As they say, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Well my friends, this deal is for real, and here's how you can get one too:

1) Sign up for one of the free offers on the right (under the "free stuff" heading).

2) Get some of your friends to do the same.

3) Await the arrival of free iPods, Game Cubes, and flat screens on your doorstep!

Yes, it's just that simple!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to work aquiring my next free doo-dad : a Sony PSP!