Years ago, Clark used a service called Freeway where he would call a toll-free number and earn free long distance calling time for listening to :10 ad spots. Hearing 1 ad got you 1 minute of talk time. Freeway, unfortunately, entered
the Internet graveyard in early 2001. Today with cell phones and VoIP, nobody really expects to pay for long distance. But international calling is still very costly. So techies are buzzing about
Talkster.com, a free ad-supported phone service. There's no registration necessary, and you can call internationally for nothing from any phone or computer. Talkster is also great for setting up free conference calls. The extended Howard clan has a family conference call about 6 or 8 times a year and everyone takes a turn paying for it. Next time it's Clark's turn, his relatives will be really sore at him because they'll have to listen to ads before getting on the line. But at least it won't cost Clark anything! On a related note,
Oovoo.com offers free video conferencing, video messaging and all kinds of unusual techie things. Entrepreneurs are trying to adapt to expectations that everything should be free on the Internet. A lot of people are wondering how Talkster and Oovoo plan to make any real money. How long before they make it to the Internet graveyard? No one knows for sure, so ride the wave while it lasts!