Are you paying for Sudoku puzzles or sheet music? Do you have extra time at work and want to spend it on the internet without spending a dime? I am on a crusade to bring you more free web services [1] that will save you money and provide free entertainment. Check below and see if you can take advantage of some of these services.
- Office Software: Have you lost the original DVD set for your laptop or computer and need to make new spreadsheets or a word document? Perhaps you rebuilt or built a computer and don’t want to pay for the Microsoft office suite (Office 2010 is currently going for $279). Open Office.org [2] offers a free alternative.
- Sudoku: With free Sudoku Online [3] you can play online using your computer, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch or print out puzzles to take with you. Choose your level of easy, medium or hard. Â
- MP3 Downloads: Free and legal MP3 downloads [4] are available here, and if you sign up for a free membership, they will make recommendations based off of your tastes. Also check out Amazon Music [5] which periodically gives away free MP3 downloads.
- Dropbox File Sharing: You can sync and store your files for free online using dropbox [6] file sharing. You can easily share your files between your computers and mobile phone.
- Board Games Online: Free Board Games Online [7] on bored.com can keep you entertained for hours.
- Sheet Music: Free Sheet Music for instruments [8] is provided by the Mutopia project through PDF files for easy printing. All of the music on Mutopia may be freely downloaded, printed, copied, distributed, modified, performed and recorded.
- Language Courses: Is the Rosetta Stone [9] financially out of your league? The BBC offers free online language courses [10] in many different languages. Upon completion of a 12-week course you even get a certificate!
- Audibooks: Podiobooks.com offers free audiobooks online [11]. Download a few to your MP3 player or burn to a CD to listen to at work, during your commute, or on a long car ride. Every book on Podiobooks.com is published with the express permission of the author and/or audio copyright holder, and sharing your files is encouraged.
- Genealogy: I have been tempted to visit genealogy websites where you have to pay for membership and information. So I was really happy to find out that there is a wealth of Genealogy Information [12] available for free on the internet. The one for Pennsylvania (where I am from) includes birth and death certificates, scanned newspapers from over a hundred years ago, and so much more.
What free web services do you use?