Yes, you can buy camping equipment and, of course, books over the Web. But that's not why it's called the Infobahn. For real news, the Web is a superb medium, and, apart from connect charges, is absolutely free. For example, point your browser to the Daily Internet News Collage (http://www.rhythm.com/inc/), a Web page providing constantly updated headline news, photographs and comprehensive links to major U.S. news providers and to more than 30 foreign online newspapers. It's even got online comics. Each day AT&T's Lead Story (http://www.leadstory.com) site provides in-depth coverage of a single topic, which links to full-text articles and discussions. Also check out the Omnivore page (http://way.net/omnivore/index.html), with domestic and world news links, and the extraordinarily copius World News Index (http://www.stack.urc.tue.nl/~haroldkl/index.html) -- click on the world map and get links to Web news providers based virtually anyplace on the globe.

For news about the Web, visit the New York TImes CyberTimes section and index (http://www.nytimes.com). It's free (you must register), with user-friendly daily Web and Internet coverage, an index of past cyber articles; a handy Net Navigator with Web pointers and helpful links, and a glossary of Netspeak. C/Net (http://www.cnet.com/) also provides netnews and much more; and visit Mecklermedia's iworld (http://www.iworld.com), with SIMBA's constantly updated Media Daily. Sadly, O'Reilly &Associates' stylish and up-to-the-minute Web Review (http://www.gnn.com/wr) has suspended publication -- O&A can't give it away free any longer -- but there's an archive of its excellent back issues and a survey on whether browsers might opt to pay for WR in the future. Finally, for droll commentary on the state of the Web (delivered with classically superior Net attitude), try Suck (http://www.suck.com/) and the Netly News on Pathfinder (http://pathfinder.com).