free

First Look: FreeMobile411

There's no shortage of local search applications for cell phone users to rely on. In addition to Google Maps Mobile, Yahoo OneSearch (which is also bundled into Yahoo Go), and TellMe's BlackBerry app, is newcomer FreeMobile411, a simple, clean-looking WAP app that searches local business and residential listings for people, business names, and business types. While the publisher, V-Enable, works on distributing a more robust client through cell phone carriers starting with Sprint, FreeMobile411.com remains as reliable a lookup for people on low-end Internet phones as it is on high-end phones.

HDtracks: Why settle for iTunes now that you can get CD quality music downloads?

Even hardcore audiophiles have to face the music--brick and mortar record stores are fading fast--and it's starting to look like the CD is on its way out. Sure, no card carrying audiophile would be caught dead downloading MP3s or iTunes, the sonic sacrifices are too drastic. Well, what if there was a site that offered bona fide CD quality downloads, would audiophiles go for it? That's HDtracks' prime directive, but I don't think the high-resolution download store is just for audiophiles.

Then again I never understood why anyone would pay more or less the same price for … Read more

Zion I, 'Luv': Free MP3 of the Day

Bay Area-based Zion I pumps up energy levels with potent beats and punctual rhymes. High-grade production by Amp Live comes in assorted flavors, all of which are ultra-crisp, clean, and chunky. MC Zion commands your attention with a steady stream of politically seasoned rhymes and plenty of charisma. With songs like these, the duo's stock continues to shoot through the roof.

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The Futureheads, 'Broke Up the Time': Free MP3 of the Day

U.K. indie-styled rockers give a nod to a tradition of melodic crooning and gritty guitars and the result is the enticing sound of Futureheads. These lads strut into the dance party and shamelessly flirt with Britpop by employing a lyrically driven sound surrounded by dirty guitar work. If the Strokes intermarried with Interpol, these bandmates--who've obviously graduating with honors from the school of sexy--could be their prodigal offspring.

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Aimee Mann, 'Thirty One Today': Free MP3 of the Day

Since emerging in the '80s as the voice of 'Til Tuesday, and following that with a series of thoughtful, introspective solo albums, Aimee Mann has maintained her high status as a thoroughly engaging and accomplished singer-songwriter. Her songs carry the weight of complex emotions, yet they never get bogged down in too much sentimentality.

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Anna Ternheim, 'To Be Gone': Free MP3 of the Day

Stockholm is keeping us stocked up on stellar indie pop, from Peter Moren to Victoria Bergsman to Jens Lekman (OK, he's out of Gothenburg). Ternheim is the latest smashing Swede. "Halfway to Fivepoints" is a haunting set run on reedy instrumentals and slinky vocals.

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Radiohead, 'Nude (Holy F**k Remix)': Free MP3 of the Day

Radiohead's new material fits nicely in the post-"Amnesiac" era, where electronics are key but not the focus. They've pushed the envelop even further by launching their "create you own Nude remix" website. Holy F**k's version is the most popular one so far.

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AVG Free joins its siblings in the land of 8.0

AVG Technologies, formerly Grisoft, has updated AVG Free to Version 8.0. The other antivirus programs the company publishes updated in March, following AVG's pattern of updating the free version about a month after the paid editions get their new coats of paint.

As before, AVG Free 8.0 features all the essential functions of AVG Internet Security, but none of the bells and whistles. So the new engine is intact, with combined antivirus, antispyware, and the formerly independent LinkScanner technologies rolled into one. However, there's no antirootkit protection, and other features included in AVG Anti-Virus such as … Read more

Desert tunes: Death Cab For Cutie, Portishead, Jack Johnson

This week, tens of thousands of alt-music junkies are fleeing to the desert to take part in the hottest event around: the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. And when we say "hottest" we mean both temperature hot and, yes, sexy hot, as well. We're impressed with the headliners, such as Portishead , Death Cab For Cutie, Jack Johnson, but we're even more down with the bands in the small print, too, such as Little Brother, Jens Lekman, and Modeselektor.

We're not actually going to Coachella (bummer), but we will be celebrating virtually via the playlist … Read more

Print your own specialty paper

Need a few sheets of graph paper? How about blank sheets of music? Dot paper? College-ruled? Before you run to the local office-supply store and pay for more than you need, head to the aptly named Printable Paper site. It's home to hundreds of paper templates you can download and print free of charge.

The PDF-formatted templates are divided into 10 different categories, including graph, lined, music, legal, and ledger. Within each category you'll find multiple selections. Music paper, for example, is available with anywhere from four to 16 staves in both portrait and landscape orientations. The only … Read more