The best free stuff while you’re stuck at home

We have seen a dramatic change in the way communities respond to it Corona virus. With schools, shops, restaurants, and theaters closed – and Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year being “social distancing” – we all need a lot of ways to talk. And since we will all be spending a lot of time at home in the future – and Money is growing ever scarcer for millions – the less entertainment costs, the better. Fortunately, there is a lot of free content online. We’ve summarized everything we can find below, from video streaming to distance learning to games and more. And we will expand this list as we find more options.

And if you ask “what’s the catch?” – It’s basically two-fold. First, many of these services are ad-financed – just like good old-fashioned commercial television. Second, like everything else on the Internet, they no doubt collect data from you. Before you sign up and dive in, you should consider these two things.

Sweet update: Here is the much-needed joy in a pocket. Wendy’s is now giving away a free Jr. Frosty for every transit order. Just tell them if you want vanilla or chocolate and you will get something delicious for free.

Free video

There’s nothing like streaming video to get through the storm. And while Netflix, HBO, Hulu and everyone else cost a pretty penny, these free video streaming services are absolutely free. Just bring a working broadband plan and tolerance for advertising with you – and you should be golden.

In addition, Amazon has created a library of free children’s television shows for all users. These shows are usually reserved for Amazon Prime customers, but now everyone can watch them for free.

Comcast update: If you are a Comcast Xfinity X1 or Flex customer, there are numerous new free programming options available. Comcast provides free on-demand programs from more than two dozen entertainment networks and subscription services. To display your options, you can say “free” on your Xfinity Voice remote control. The new content – a lot of it is based on different channels like Afro, Aspire TV, Black News Channel, Filipino On Demand, CBeebies and Cinelatino – joins channels like Showtime, Epix, CuriosityStream, History and Dog TV, which were already during the pandemic .

Continue reading: Netflix Alternatives: The 10 Best Free Movie Streaming Services

Free e-books and magazines

Why should you spend hard cash buying books and magazines – which you usually only need to read once and then never see again – when there is a good chance that you can borrow them from the library instead – without you actually have to do go to the library. Reading digital media from the library may sound strange, but many local libraries have undergone major modernization since the days of card catalogs and microfiche readers. What exactly you can check out at your local library depends on what your local library offers. Here’s how to get started:

And once you’ve figured out what your library has to offer, you won’t have to stop here because you will find a wealth of resources to get your hands on free e-books online. Look at the whole ball 10 ways to download and read books online for free.

Continue reading: How to get free e-books, magazines, movies and TV shows from your library

Free games

Now that we all spend a lot more time at home, there is a lot more time left to play video games. Then just a problem? Games are expensive. Instead of emptying your wallet of video games at retail prices, you may want to buy a few free games – there are always a few. These games are all available for PC, and some are also available for PS4, Xbox, and even switch and mobile platforms.

Continue reading: Free entertainment to help you survive the social distance from corona viruses

To update: And there are more – 7,000 more. Go to the internet archive Play thousands of MS-DOS games who were saved from oblivion. Getting started is pretty easy, but for a complete overview, read the Internet archive games CNET’s How-to-Clifford Colby wrote when the archive was first published.

Free video conferencing

Perhaps the worst part of the pandemic for many of us is the isolation that comes from social distancing. We work from home, don’t see friends in the evenings, and generally try to create an air gap to stay healthy. One way to stay connected despite the quarantines is to use these free video conferencing and video chat tools that have been around for years, but you may have had little reason to try. (Some paid for versions when used for business / corporate accounts.)

Continue reading: 7 free video chat apps that you can use when you distance yourself socially

Free music and audio

One of the first signs that companies were taking the corona virus seriously was when public events were postponed and canceled. Sports events, music concerts, stage shows and live podcast recordings were just a few of the entertainment options that disappeared overnight. That was a shit, but there is a good side. You can stock up on free audio to fill that hole in your soul.

Audiobooks are not just for long journeys. Audible has made a selection of Audible Originals to listen to for free:

And there is also free content especially for your children. Audible has a large collection of free streaming audiobooks The boys can enjoy.

Free distance learning solutions and educational resources

Thanks to the pandemic, schools in the United States are closing and sending students home for an uncertain future – and in most cases it is unclear whether studies will even resume this school year. Of course, most institutions resort to some form of online teaching, but if you’re a parent looking for a way to keep your kids academically busy in this very challenging time, you can try out many tools.

If you’d like to add some virtual excursions to the home curriculum, you can visit among hundreds of museums around the world Google’s art and culture collections. In addition, the New York Metropolitan Opera Stream another encore live in HD performance every day. For details, see the “Free Night at the Opera” section of Free entertainment to help you survive the social distance from corona viruses.

Just one thing: SoftMaker Office is a productivity suite that Microsoft Office often overshadows to the point where you may not even know it exists. However, Softmaker is not only an office alternative, it is also compatible with Office. TextMaker uses Office’s DOCX file format, while PlanMaker can read and write Excel’s XLSX format. SoftMaker currently offers Six-month licenses for the entire SoftMaker Office suite for all students free of charge.

Continue reading: Coronavirus closed schools. You can find online lessons for all ages and classes here

This article is updated regularly.

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