The Conference USA women's tournament will offer free admission for Wednesday's semifinal games and Friday's championship game, the league announced Tuesday night. Wednesday's first semifinal game will be between top-seeded Tulane and No. 5 East Carolina. Game time is 5 p.m. at the Reynolds Center. The second semifinal is scheduled to start at 7:30. Friday's championship game will be played at 12:30 p.m.

Wow! There sure is a lot of banter around with regards to the future of online bingo – especially free bingo. Will it last? Is it simply a ploy to get players signed up and depositing?

Who cares! “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” as they say and it is entirely your call as to whether you deposit money  regardless of the publicity or sign up offer available, the ultimate decision remains with you. So, if you are just dipping your toes into the wonderful world of online bingo remember that and go have some fun!

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Microsoft plans to release the final version of Microsoft Office 2010 on June 15 and is – as always – offering free upgrades for users who happen to purchase the previous version of the Office suite shortly before that release. In a blog post over at Technet Microsoft announced that the free upgrade period starts today which means that users who purchase Office 2007 from today on will be eligible for a free upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 once it comes out.

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Idea Cellular and free SMS service provider, 160by2.com have entered into a partnership as part of Idea’s ‘Use Mobile Save Paper’ campaign. Under the alliance, 160by2.com which claims to have 6.8 million subscribers with 57 million outgoing SMS traffic every month will offer mobile subscribers an interactive game encouraging users to make increased use of mobile phone and less of paper. Registered users will be linked to a microsite which will enable the user to send unlimited messages and also stand a chance to win BlackBerry handsets.

The game involves the user to nurture a seed to grow. The user can gain 15 points per day by sending 15 SMS to unique mobile numbers per day. Upon gaining 15 points the user can earn another seed. The tree yields fruits which can be redeemed for a BlackBerry. The initiative launched in February 15 will continue till March 10, 2010.

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There's been a bit of talk over the alleged leaked Premium Playstation Network features, and how much anyone would actually want to pay for those services. Some people are interested in possibly getting free games, PS1 Classics, and discounts to all content. Others would prefer the beta access, and supposed user-to-user challenges that allow a bit more customization. But in the end these features are just icing on a cake, and have little to do with what being online with a console is all about.

Unlike Xbox owners most people feel that since Playstation 3 already offers free online services there's no reason for them to be charged for. Copying the things Xbox Live already does then offering a slew of useless additions won't help. If Sony really wants to start winning the console wars, then whoever is in charge of this Premium service outline need only look to a few simple things:

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Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced that all landline broadband customers getting registered from 16-02-2010 till 30-04-2010 will be able to enjoy free Games on Demand services, free Music & Video on demand service and free Web Conferencing services.

Under Games on Demand service, a you can access a large number of games.  You can surf unlimited times and play the games.  Normally, BSNL charge Rs.200 per month for this service.  Under Video & music on demand.

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There are numerous stories about how much money people have made off of iPhone apps but have you ever wondering just how many of those apps you don’t have to pay for? I don’t know about you guys, but I have a hard time purchasing any apps over 1 dollar.

Well, analytical firm Distimo has recently done a study to see how many of the applications in the various app stores are free and how many you have to pay for. Their findings state that the Android marketplace has 57% free applications while Apple’s store only has 25% free. Of course this is most likely due to the fact that the iPhone’s App Store has a much larger number of apps but it’s nice to see some cold hard facts regardless.

The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on misleading ads offering free credit reports that trick people into paying for credit monitoring or other services they don't want. Under federal law, consumers are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The reports can be ordered online at an official centralized site, www.annualcreditreport.com, or by calling 877-322-8228.

Some consumers have complained that they thought they were ordering their free annual report from some companies but couldn't get it without paying fees or buying other services. Starting April 1, sites advertising the free reports must disclose prominently that consumers are entitled to no-strings-attached free reports through the official site. They also must include clickable links to the official site.

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Maybe the recession has taken a bite out of your budget and you’re skipping restaurant meals. Today would be a good day to dine out again — on pancakes, since they will be free all day at the International House of Pancakes.

Each customer will get three buttermilk pancakes gratis in an effort to encourage charitable donations to the Children’s Miracle Network, said IHOP General Manager Jill Celeste. It’ll be all day long out the door,” she said, predicting hundreds of hungry patrons will turn up for the event, which lasts from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The restaurant at 5427 14th St., near the intersection with State Road 70/53rd Avenue West, is among close to 1,500 IHOPs in 50 states, Canada and Mexico participating in the restaurant chain’s National Pancake Day Celebration, according to a company spokesman. The celebration’s fundraising goal this year is $1.75 million.

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 In the Charlotte Bobcats' bumpy six-year history, I have heard this from a whole lot of disgruntled sports fans: "I wouldn't go to a Bobcats game if you gave me free tickets." I'm sure that is true for some. But I now know there are a whole lot of people who are dying to go to a Bobcats game if you gave them free tickets.

I got close to 1,000 entries in my "Two Free Bobcats Tickets" contest, which we didn't publicize much and only allowed people to enter for a 30-hour period. Of those nearly 1,000 entries, only one person had the exact right answer to all three questions I asked. His name was Jeff Johnston. He lives in Charlotte, and he has won two free floor-level seats to the Charlotte-Toronto home game March 29. Johnston plans to take his 9-year-old daughter Adrianna to the game.

To review, I asked readers three questions through my "Scott Says" blog and in my newspaper column. Those questions were: How many points will Cleveland's LeBron James and Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings score combined in their games against Charlotte this past weekend? The answer turned out to be 41 (22 for James, 19 for Jennings). This eliminated about 98 percent of the entries. Almost everyone guessed too high, which was understandable given that the two players average a combined 47.6 points.

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