The Free Economy

You start your day with a steaming cup of coffee you got for completing a survey at Tasterschoice.com, fill Fluffy's bowl with free kibbles from Pets.com and wash your hair with an introductory gift from Drugstore.com. You boot up your computer, which you earned by watching ads on your screen, and surf the Net on a high-speed connection that only cost you some of your own demographic data. You check e-mail, receive a fax, call Seattle and São Paulo, download a new game, read the New York Times, solve a computer glitch with tech support, file your taxes, send a birthday card, order a bottle of Champagne, get advice from an interior decorator, plant an orchid, get a new voice-mail account, plan a vacation and snag a manicure kit all without reaching for your wallet.

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