Best Free Stuff Online
As e-commerce takes hold and more Web sites begin charging for content that used to cost you nothing, good free stuff is getting harder and harder to find. For our third annual guide, we scoured the Internet, tossed aside the dreck, and found worthwhile downloads.
Best Free Government Sites
The United Search Engine of America
Need a tax form? Wonder what hours the Smithsonian Institution is open? If it has to do with the federal government, this specialized search engine can probably help you track it down. But take note: While there's plenty of valuable no-cost information here, some links lead to order forms for old-fashioned paper documents that aren't free. www.fedworld.gov
Small Business Starter Kit
Start a small business, and you can count on free advice from relatives--especially Uncle Sam, who gives plenty of help at this site. Despite SBA Online's dowdy plain-text pages, it offers a huge amount of material on financing, writing business plans, and other essentials, along with a shareware library of over 500 programs to help you finance, market, manage, and otherwise run your own small business. www.sbaonline.sba.gov
Scamproof Yourself
Be careful out there: Read up on new scam-artist hustles and how to avoid them. At this site, run by the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, you'll find dozens of news bulletins on common frauds, plus an electronic edition of the invaluable Consumer Resource Handbook. www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/conline.htm
