free

16 Stories

Grubhub's Free-Lunch Idea Flops: 'I Hate You'

Chaos ensues in NYC as restaurants are overwhelmed by thousands of orders

(Newser) - Turns out "there's no such thing as a free lunch" is sadly accurate after all, at least for thousands of New Yorkers who recently tried to take advantage of a scrumptious-sounding Grubhub promotion. NPR reports that the food delivery service, after finding out via an internal survey that...

Airline Offers Free Flight If You Have This Last Name

Anyone with the last name Green, Greene can fly gratis on Frontier on Aug. 13

(Newser) - Frontier Airlines is offering a free flight to everyone with two very specific last names as part of its environmentally conscious "Green Week." USA Today notes the qualifying but not completely surprising surnames: Green and Greene. The airline's website explains the simple steps for getting a complimentary...

Make TSA PreCheck Free, Everyone Wins

There's a Way
to Cut TSA Lines
and TSA Costs
STUDY SAYS
Dec 6, 2016 2:44 PM CST

There's a Way to Cut TSA Lines and TSA Costs

Waive the PreCheck fee, researchers say

(Newser) - Millions of people pay for the privilege of leaving their shoes and belts on and their laptops in their bags during airport security screenings. But a study out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says by making the TSA's PreCheck program free—it's currently $85 for the...

You Can Now Access NASA's Research Online—for Free

Space agency was told to tear down the (pay)wall, which led to PubSpace

(Newser) - PubSpace may sound like an app that maps out local watering holes (not a bad idea in its own right), but it's actually an online repository where NASA will make all its publicly funded research available for free, the Independent reports. This unprecedented access, which came after the...

Admission to National Parks Free for a Week

No cash needed April 16-24 to celebrate NPS' 100th anniversary

(Newser) - The National Park Service turns 100 this year, and to celebrate, the NPS is waiving entry fees to its national parks all of next week, Time reports. National Park Week runs April 16 through April 24, thanks to a joint effort by the NPS and National Park Foundation. "We...

Al Franken Pushing to Make College Textbooks Free

Minnesota senator co-sponsoring bill that would give access to online resources

(Newser) - Al Franken knows how ridiculous the cost of college textbooks can be, and he want to do something about it. That's why the Minnesota senator and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin on Thursday introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act, a bill that would give grants to higher-ed institutions so they...

How to Get Free Stuff on Twitter

Follow the right tweeters, and mind your hashtags

(Newser) - More and more marketers are giving away free stuff on Twitter, and Erin Gifford at Mashable offers advice on to cash in. Read the full list here . A sampling:
  • Find tweeters who give away merchandise by searching for "freebie" or "free stuff." Some winners: @heyitsfree ; @freestuffrocks ; @freenology
...

Iconic London Paper Goes Free After 182 Years

Owners eliminate cover price as Evening Standard hemorrhages cash

(Newser) - The Evening Standard, London's 182-year-old afternoon newspaper, will become a freesheet later this month in an attempt to pump up the struggling title's circulation. The Standard, purchased by Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev last year for the fire-sale price of one pound, loses $16 million a year and may fire staff...

Microsoft to Give Away New Web-Based Office

Goes head-to-head with Google's online apps

(Newser) - Microsoft, the “king of paid software,” is going free with an online version of Office next year, Fortune reports. “The sleeping giant in Redmond has clearly woken up to the Internet threat,” writes Jon Fortt. Microsoft is risking “cannibalizing its own Office business,” but...

Anderson vs. Gladwell: The Battle Over Free

Anderson's new book sets off old-school journalists' feud

(Newser) - Chris Anderson's new book, Free, examining the repercussions the Internet trend of bringing costs to zero, triggered a mini-war with Malcolm Gladwell, who lambasted him for arguing that "the New York Times should be staffed by volunteers, like Meals on Wheels." In the London Times, Antonia Senior does...

Microsoft to Release Free Anti-Virus Software Soon

(Newser) - Microsoft is developing free anti-virus software to compete with subscription services from Symantec and McAfee, Reuters reports. The program, codenamed Morro, will be released in beta “soon” and will likely have similar features to other companies’ entry-level products that cost about $40 a year. Microsoft made an attempt to...

With News, 'We Get What We Pay For'
 With News, 
 'We Get What 
 We Pay For' 
OPINION
May 10, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

With News, 'We Get What We Pay For'

Sick media must not die

(Newser) - We know the mainstream media is sick, but it doesn’t have to die, writes Frank Rich in the New York Times. When television appeared, people worried it would eat movies, Broadway, and radio; all these forms still exist, having “learned to adapt and to collaborate with the monster....

Madoff Victims Get Free Meal
 Madoff Victims Get Free Meal 
Mar 19, 2009 9:36 AM CDT

Madoff Victims Get Free Meal

New York restaurant offers three-course meal to Ponzi scheme victims

(Newser) - There ain't no such thing as a free lunch—but if you were a victim of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, a restaurant in New York will give you a free dinner. This week Nino's 208, an Italian restaurant located near Madoff's offices, is offering the city's swindled any three courses...

Smart Software Programs Write Your To-Do Lists

Schedule events, reminders from text or voice statements

(Newser) - Busy? A new kind of online organizer works like a personal assistant, interpreting loose statements—like “have brunch with Margaret on Sunday"—and turning them into scheduled events on users’ calendars. Free programs like Presdo, IWantSandy and reQall use natural language processing to organize casually written, and sometimes...

Free Broadband Could Be Part of Feds' Auction Plan

FCC head considers plan that could have 95% of US covered in 10 years

(Newser) - The Federal Communication Commission wants you to have free Internet, the Wall Street Journal reports, and it's considering a plan to auction airwaves with the requirement that the winner offer Wi-fi free to most of the US. The free access would come with its own strings for users, though, in...

Grocery Chain Offers Free Rx Meds
Grocery Chain Offers Free
Rx Meds
Aug 6, 2007 3:17 PM CDT

Grocery Chain Offers Free Rx Meds

Publix pharmacies will dispense 7 antibiotics at no cost

(Newser) - Pharmacies in Publix supermarkets across five Southern states will distribute seven antibiotics free to patients with prescriptions, the chain said today. The CEO allows that one goal is to drive customer traffic, but it's also an example of the private sector assisting access to affordable health care, the AP reports....

16 Stories