Information give-away: that's what the 'Net has evolved into. Paying for information (unless it is very valuable or unique information) is now considered taboo on the Internet. The Internet Surfer mentality has become, "Why should I pay for that if I can get it somewhere else on the World Wide Web for free?" He or she is right!

Once the sole medium of print, now plunging head first, magazines and newspapers are rushing to claim their stake in the fast-growing WWW with electronic magazines or e-zines. While not every journal you may read will be online, yet, most are trying to get there with at least a showing.

Almost all of the online versions of magazines or newspapers allow you to see their "print edition" table of contents. Most let you see at least a summary of each topic, but here is where the useful ones split from the pure advertising sites.

Each site chooses one of three means to get you the full story. First, the summary as a teaser. This method is designed to encourage you to subscribe to the print edition. These sites may contain the last issue, but want you to pay for the most current information (thus still giving a value to their print).

Second, the summary teaser with full text available. This method allows you to see the full article online, but you have to part with your money in a "pay-per-view" fashion, or through online subscriptions. Subscription costs are almost always much less than their paper counterparts because of the enormous savings in shipping costs.

Finally, full text for free. This method provides the online version for free. This site makes enough money off advertisements to pay the Web developers.

E-zines give distinct advantages over their glossy-paper counterparts. Most online magazines allow you to search for past issues (or at least their summaries) and most offer features not available in the print version.

As a small, but woefully inadequate sample, try these online magazines and newspapers.

U.S. News Online (they dropped the "World Report," but it is still in there) is still the great weekly news magazine you have come to respect. With options to allow for slower, text-based Web browsers or for those of you that are still clinging to that 2400 or 14,400bps modems.

TIME World Wide is another full-featured site with plenty of extras to keep you there. Also including a daily version called TIME News Service Daily, your news is never more than 24 hours old. Be sure to check TIME's movie reviews for the latest big screen announcements.

On the Internet side, Web Week is a good place to start. Crammed with Web-relevant information every day, this "weekly" magazine gives plenty of full content.

For movie and Hollywood buffs, you can read Premiere Magazine online with ease and get your daily gossip tidbits as well. Well thought out and concise, this e-zine is worth a visit.

CMP Publications TechWeb is the home to numerous computer and Internet-related magazines. Scroll through the samples. Some have full text, others are just teasers, but all have at least some content that will make it worth your while. You can even search through all their magazines at one time with the handy search tool.

Pathfinder is the business equivalent of CMP with such magazines as "Sports Illustrated," " People," "Money," "Fortune." This is one of the original pioneers in the e-zine business and always a leader.

For newspapers, try the Wall Street Journal (free until the end of December of Microsoft Internet Explorer users) or The Houston Chronicle, always free.

If none of these are your taste, I suggest you try searching for your favorite magazine or newspaper on UltraSeek, one of the new breeds of WWW searcher. This search engine gets great marks for speed and ease of use. I am a convert to UltraSeek and now check UltraSeek before the older AltaVista.

There are thousands of publications online with more being added each week. Get your fill of information quickly, easily and timely online.