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You can get a free PC, if…
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February 8, 1999: 8:20 a.m. ET
You supply personal data, Free-PC.com will give you a PC -- and lots of ads
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A California company is offering a free personal computer, with free Internet service, provided recipients agree to share personal data and allow advertising to take up some of the screen space.
The two-year trial is being offered to 10,000 people by Free-PC.com, a privately held company that believes the potential benefits of electronic commerce more than justify the giveaway of a computer that would sell for less than $1,000.
The computers being given away are Compaq Presario Internet PCs with a 333MHz processor, 32MB of RAM, a 33.6kpm modem, Windows 98 operating system, CD-ROM and floppy drives and a 15-inch monitor. There's also a 4-gigabyte hard drive, 2 gigabytes of which are dedicated to the ads and data gathered by the company.
To qualify for the computers, Free-PC.com says individuals need to fill out a detailed questionnaire that includes data about income, family status and personal interests. Of the initial applicants, 10,000 will be chosen based on how well they demographically match the company's advertisers. The initial service is scheduled to be for two years.
Free-PC.com says the information gathered on individuals won't be distributed outside the company.
The company says the advertising will be updated each time the user goes online. Because half of each machine's hard drive is devoted to the advertising, Free-PC.com says the ads that appear will be dynamic, using full-motion video and other advanced applications.
Free-PC.com is headed by investor Bill Gross and gets about a third of its initial $30 million in funding from USA Networks Inc. 
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