I recently read at wired.com that things are getting cheaper and cheaper. Like at Yahoo — unlimited data storage in your mailbox. That's insane. That's awesome! Technology is advancing so far that most of the average user's needs can be met for next to nothing. And someday soon, it really will cost us all nothing! Well, that's the vibe I got from the article, anyway.

I wish Health Care and Education were free.

In Star Trek, I believe there is no need for money. I've never really investigated this issue, but from what I can tell, the reason for this is the presence of replicator technology. It's like every room has a microwave-sized box that receives voice commands. So you say, "Computer, please make me a ham sandwich." And I guess nanomachines go to work to quickly engineer your food item. Or maybe they use a combination of hologram/transporter technology to immediately convert energy into matter in whatever configuration is required. So instead of decompiling half-eaten ham dinners and stale bread, and then reassembling the components into a ham sandwich (or instead of breaking down sewage and using that to make the ham sandwich), the machine would simply convert pure energy into a fresh meal. Cool!

I think, though, that the closest we are to achieving replicator technology lands on the side of nanotech. This means that all garbage would become fuel. Kind of like at the end of "Back to the Future" when Doc says, "I need fuel!" and tosses an old beer can into the Mr. Fusion. But instead of using the atoms and molecules of the can and beer inside for fusion, the replicator would strip the paint/label from the can, file that away, break down the metal, store that, and probably filter or process the beer somehow. Then later, you'd say "Computer, make me a can of Coke," and it would use the old metal and maybe some of the liquid. Or, you could say, "Computer, make me some aluminum foil."

With replicator technology, we'd rely on factories far less. Some would put out replicators of various sizes, and then the upgraded model would arrive that was self-repairing, and could even make copies of itself. Certain groups or institutions might have room-sized replicators, or bigger. "Computer, make me a house!"

So everyone would have access to any item, any material they wanted. All you need is the raw materials, and if they can't be found in your garbage, you'd have to get them somehow.

That would cost, right? I don't think so. I figure if nanotech is that advanced, we could have mining crews of nanotech machines digging, finding, and saving raw materials. Maybe even in your own back yard. "Computer, dig up my yard, find me some stuff, then put it back like it was. Oh, and make my lawn look better than my neighbor's." And even if you said, "Computer, make me a diamond," but were out of coal, you could probably find some carbon elsewhere. Like maybe it could break down the carbon of that leftover fruit salad in your fridge. And then if you ever got sick of that diamond, or your wife left you for the robot she conned you into replicating, then you could say, "Computer, take this diamond and make me a fruit salad."

Fruit salad! Yummy, yummy!

So, with all that technology at everyone's disposal, most things would probably be free. Maybe not land, though, in the traditional sense. But I bet there are probably ways to "make" more.

Give everyone in the world their own microwave-sized replicator. That's an end to hunger. Maybe the box can pull water from the air. An end to thirst? And it can take sand and make a palace. So some guy out in the middle of the desert could probably survive with one of those boxes, even with no plants around. He could use his own waste to make more food, (clean of course), use the sand to make connectible tiles with which he could build a house, pull water from the air (or filter sea water)…

Why not just make a jetpack?

Or how about this? If nanotech in the box can make anything, why not have nanotech in the guy's body? The machines would smoothly convert his waste into further nutrients, rearranging all the bad stuff into stuff that serves a purpose.

Seriously, I heard that they're working on some kind of artificial blood. It's so efficient that if you had it inside you, you could sprint for 10 minutes straight…

…without taking a breath.

Sure, this stuff could be used to create super soldiers, or a replicating goo that could decimate a country (or the world, and that's a widely-acknowledged fear). But I think it's so powerful that it should probably eliminate the need for war. All we need to do is to think, and figure out how to fix the problems of the chronically upset.

Frustrated with Google AdWords? You might turn to Yahoo, where the "ad quality" standards are less stringent. But it costs $30 to sign up. So who else is there…? Microsoft! Many have said that they've got softer standards, and some of the lowest costs per click around! And adCenter only requires $5 to sign up. Plus, since they're the new kids on the block, they've got codes all over the internet for free clicks!

You may have seen an offer for a $25 credit.

You may have seen one for $50.

I've got one for $150.

I did a quick search, and came upon this page:

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40044077

Trying to visit it, both IE and Firefox warn that it may not be a trustworthy site, as something seems to be wrong with its certificate. However, it's part of Microsoft.com, so I found it trustworthy enough to visit. I haven't noticed any problems.

Once there, a visitor is presented with a promotional offer of $150 in free adCenter credit for the first 5000 Microsoft Partners to sign up. From what I can tell, a Microsoft Partner is a special VIP of sorts. I'm not quite clear on the requirements.

However…

The page says the first 5,000 people to sign up for adCenter using the promotional code MSPP-150QL-08 by June 30, 2008 will receive $150 in free adCenter credit, and 60 days of QuickLaunch campaign support, in which an expert helps you optimize your PPC campaign for free.

To continue with QuickLaunch after 60 days, you must be spending at least $30 per day.

Participation in QuickLaunch is optional.

To continue with adCenter after 90 days, you must pay for all subsequent clicks. After 90 days, your $150 credit expires.

Minimum cost per click (CPC) is $0.05.

Unraveling The Mystery

"Be among the first 5,000 partners to sign up…"

What do you have to do to be a partner?

"This offer is valid only for new advertisers opening a new account with Microsoft adCenter."

So that's anybody, right?

"Promotional credit good only for residents in the 50 United States and Washington, D.C."

Ok, so anyone new, in America.

Maybe the trick is to go through their special sign up link. And if that doesn't work, here's the regular link.

From what I've heard, when you sign up and enter the promotional code, adCenter will make no mention of your free $150 credit. However, it should appear under the Billing Activity section of Accounts & Billing in your adCenter user area. Also, this should work even if you don't have a Microsoft Partner account.

Randy Walker mentioned how this Microsoft Partner Program $150 promotion is part of the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Certification program. He says you can sign up through the regular link, and using the code you should get the credit, so I think this will work for anybody. Let me know if you try it. Good luck!

I heard on television the other day a message along the lines of, "Get the free, Federal edition of TurboTax at TurboTax.com." I thought, "Wow, free?!" So today I hopped on over to TurboTax.com, which redirected to TurboTax.intuit.com, and I saw that the free edition was pretty much bare bones. It provides "Free federal tax preparation for 1040EZ and simple returns," as well as "Free eFile."

Makes sense, right? Offer the bare minimum for free, and when things get more complex, more demanding of "The Box" as one anti-TurboTax commercial puts it, charge more for the software.

A few weeks ago I was intoxicated with the idea of the proposed "Fair Tax," under which new goods and services will be taxed 23%, and that's it. No other taxes to worry about! Just a simple, straightforward sales tax on new stuff. As Wikipedia puts it, "The proposal also calls for a monthly payment to all households of citizens and legal resident aliens (based on family size) as an advance rebate of tax on purchases up to the poverty level." Sounds fantastic.

What I like most about the Fair Tax idea is its potential to save the country the administrative costs that come with putting so much time-consuming effort into reaching the bottom line in a system that is notoriously complex. The simplicity of the Fair Tax would significantly "lighten the load," so to speak.

Still, some say people will find ways around it, ways to "beat the system," and force the little guy to pay more than his fair share of taxes. But isn't that happening already? I think using the argument that the negatives of the current tax system might intrude on the proposed new, simpler system isn't all that compelling.

But here's something else to consider. If we did abolish the current tax code in favor of a simple sales tax, there'd be no need for the whole "Let me do your taxes" industry! TurboTax would become obsolete! I'm sure if that were to happen, there would be other areas that could benefit from the newly freed-up resources of the TurboTax organization.

As it stands now, the tax system just seems like a game we're all playing, and it's overly complex, and it isn't any fun.

I know, everybody who's anybody has already heard of BlogRush. Well, I finally got around to getting this site in on the action, so I figured I might as well give a quick rundown of the service.

If you've got a decent blog, it might be a good idea to sign up for BlogRush. They provide a free, simple widget that earns you traffic. It doesn't interfere with AdSense, and every time someone loads a page from your blog, you earn 1 BlogRush credit. Why? Because that page load included a load of the widget, which itself showed 5 links to other related blogs.

Each time the widget is loaded, you earn another credit. And all those credits you continue to accumulate will be used to get your latest blog posts shown as links on other people's BlogRush widgets. One credit earned equals one showing of a link to your post.

The really interesting part comes when you can manage to refer a good-sized group of people. BlogRush keeps track of everybody you refer, and everybody they refer, on and on for 10 generations. Every time anyone in your referral network earns a credit, you will earn one too, or a fraction of one if they are a certain number of generations away. John Chow at one point had accumulated 10 million credits! Of course, results like that demand incredible traffic.

What I like about the widget is it's easy to add, it's low maintenance, and it's designed to be clicked by anyone, including the blog owner. Free, functional, fantastic.

For those of you who've been planning to sign up (or who just decided to), I'd be grateful if you'd do so through my referral link.