Apple iTunes: Free Stuff, No iPod Required

If your household is anything like mine, your television programming is determined by your husband, boyfriend or kids. Let's face it! We, as women, are used to sacrificing our own personal preferences for those of our family. In the morning, we watch "choo choo" a.k.a. "Thomas and Friends". In the evenings, the tv is stuck on "The Simpsons" or "America's Funniest Home Videos". Enough is enough. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy watching video montages of dads getting hit in the groin by their kids as much as the next gal, but when do I get to watch what I want to watch?

I've finally found the answer to my prayers! iTunes!

Did you know that you don't have to have an iPod to take advantage of all that iTunes has to offer. I used to think iTunes was just a place to pay for your mp3's when the guilt of pirating them became too great. (just kidding of course ;-)) Check out some of the sweet (and totally free) programming that you can find on iTunes:

"FREE ON iTunes" - iTunes has a section on it's storefront homepage (kind of toward the bottom) that features the programming you can download for free. They add and remove things often, so check back frequently. For an even better selection, click on "TV Shows" in the menu and then look for the "FREE ON iTunes" section. There are pages and pages of free things to check out. Yes, they are trying to get you hooked on shows and music to entice you to buy the entire season pass, but you don't have to give in to that. At the very least, this will encourage you to try new shows and music you might have otherwise missed out on.

The next totally free iTunes feature comes in the form of podcasts. You've probably heard of them, but may have thought that you had to have an iPod to get podcasts. That is totally untrue. You can get audio and video podcasts to watch on your computer. I will say that having an iPod is really cool and you should totally consider going that route if you haven't already, but not having one won't keep you from enjoying the available programs.

Did you know that a lot of your favorite TV networks podcast? Here's an example of you can find using podcasts:

The Tudors is a fairly new show on Showtime. I don't get Showtime, so I get most of my episodes using iTunes. This is a video podcast that has a ton of extra footage, interviews and even a full episode of the yet-to-be aired second season premier. (it's very good by the way!)

No matter what your taste, you are guaranteed to find what you are looking for using iTunes. Here is a link to get the software: iTunes U. Click. Sync. Learn. Download on iTunes.