The Cheapskate

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? Amazon.com has nearly 800 MP3s free for the download.

(Credit: Rick Broida)

Want to freshen up your music library? Amazon.com is offering a whopping 770 MP3s you can download free of charge.

I've long been a fan of Amazon's MP3 store, which offers DRM-free music downloads compatible with PCs, portable players, cell phones, GPS devices, MP3-playing fry pans, and other gizmos.

I visit the store almost daily to check out the Daily Deal, which is usually a complete album for just $2 to $4. (For example, last month, Amazon had U2's new "No Line on the Horizon" for $3.99. Alas, it's back up to $8.99--but that's still a buck cheaper than on Apple's iTunes.)

As for the freebies, you'll find singles from the likes of Neko Case, Robyn Hitchcock, Death Cab for Cutie, and plenty of artists you've probably never heard of. But so what? Free is free, and there's loads of good listening to be had here. Here are five downloads I like:

• "Hurt Feelings," Flight of the Conchords
• "Belated Promise Ring," Iron & Wine
• "Ghosts Under Rocks," Ra Ra Riot
• "Sean Connery," Craig Ferguson (8 minutes of stand-up gold)
• "All the Same Mistakes," Mieka Pauley

Unfortunately, there's no way to download all 770 tracks in one fell swoop--you have to grab them one at a time. (You'll also need to install Amazon's MP3 Downloader app, which, conveniently, can automatically add new tracks to your iTunes or Windows Media Player library.)

Amazon regularly adds new stuff to the freebie library, so make sure to check back every few weeks. Oh, and if you want an easy way to keep tabs on the Daily Deal, subscribe to Amazon's Twitter feed.

Procrastinators, rejoice! You can print a great gift in minutes.

(Credit: Amazon)

Need a last-minute gift for an office party, your trusty mail carrier, a beloved blogger, or anyone else on your list? As long as you have a printer, you can churn out something special in a matter of minutes. Here's a list of four stores that let you print your own gift certificates for in-person giving:

• Amazon.com On any Amazon page, click the Gift Cards link, then choose Print at Home. The minimum amount is $5, but you're not limited to increments: Your certificate can be in the amount of $10.57, if you want.
• Gifts.com The recipient of a Gifts.com certificate can redeem it at one or more of a hundred-plus stores and restaurants, including Barnes & Noble, Pottery Barn, and Starbucks.
• iTunes Obviously, you can grab an iTunes gift card in just about any store on the planet, but did you know you can print your own? Just fire up iTunes, click Buy iTunes Gifts, and then choose Printable Gift Certificates. Amounts range from $10 to $200.
• Restaurant.com Once again, Restaurant.com is offering $25 gift certificates for just $2 (with coupon code HOLIDAY). Not familiar with the site? Get the details from my previous post.

The free Graphing Calculator app for iPhone/iPod Touch.

(Credit: Gabor Nagy)

Tuesday's roundup of killer freebies for Windows reminded me that I haven't covered iPhone/iPod Touch freeware in awhile, so here's another list of must-have apps that won't cost you a penny:

• Air Sharing Turns your device into a portable, wireless hard drive and document viewer. Note: this jewel will eventually be priced at $6.99, but for the next few days you can snag it free.
• Graphing Calculator Why spend big bucks on a graphing calculator when your iPhone/touch can do the job for nada? This uber-handy tool offers functions ranging from absolute value to tangent.
• Hanoi A beautiful rendition of the classic Towers of Hanoi game. The object is simple: move a stack of disks from one side of the board to the other. I couldn't put it down.
• Instapaper Free When you're browsing on your PC and come across a Web site (cough *Cheapskate* cough), blog post, news item, feature, or whatever that you want to read later, just click the Instapaper bookmarklet. Then fire up the Instapaper app on your iPhone, and presto: there's the Web page. Genius!
• White Noise Having trouble getting to sleep? White Noise offers an assortment of ambient sounds--waves, rain, wind chimes, etc.--to help you drift off. And there's a shut-off timer so you don't wake up to a dead battery.

If you like this list, be sure to check out my original roundup of iPhone freebies and the sequel. In the meantime, hit the comments and vote for your favorite no-cost iPhone apps.

Get free HD episodes of 12 popular shows when you install iTunes 8.

(Credit: Apple)

Best thing about the just-released iTunes 8? HD versions of TV shows. To help kick things off, Apple is offering one free HD episode from each of a dozen shows (some of which are actually worth watching!). I've rounded up the links for you; just make sure you have iTunes 8 installed.

• 30 Rock (welcome back, NBC!)
• Battlestar Galactica (the dazzling Season 4 opener)
• Eureka
• Heroes (Season 2--meh)
• In Plain Sight
• Lipstick Jungle
• Monk (I've never seen a single episode--any good?)
• The Office (strong as ever in its fourth season, which is amazing)
• Psych
• Life
• The Rachel Zoe Project (never heard of it)
• Top Design

I'm loving this. I've wanted to check out shows like Eureka, In Plain Sight, and Life, and now I can--in full HD glory. Grab these freebies while ye may and stock up your laptop, iPhone, Apple TV (if you're one of the five people who own one--hi-yo!), or whatever.

Aurora Feint is almost too good to be free.

(Credit: iTunes)

Let's hear it for software developers who don't charge for their work. Witness these five excellent apps for the iPhone 3G and updated iPod touch, then check out five more freebies you'll definitely want to install. (As before, all links will take you directly to the iTunes Store.)

• Aurora Feint Bejeweled meets Bard's Tale in this amazingly polished puzzle/RPG game.
• Last.fm and Pandora Tired of your own music library? Name a favorite artist and these two apps will build you a custom radio station, then stream tunes over 3G or Wi-Fi. I can't pick a winner; they're both awesome.
• Morocco Play the classic game of Othello against your iPhone/touch or another person. Morocco also helps beginners learn the game by showing possible moves.
• reQall A combination to-do list and reminder service, reQall lets you type or say something you need to remember. Then, at the appropriate time, the app issues a reminder via voice, text message, instant message, e-mail, or calendar alert. Sweet!
• Writing Pad Promising a better way to take notes, WritingPad employs ShapeWriter technology, which lets you enter text by tracing out "word shapes" on a virtual keyboard. It works remarkably well.

(Credit: The New York Times Company)

Over the weekend I updated my iPod touch to the 2.0 software, and I consider that $10 well-spent. Now I can access all the same great apps as iPhone 3G owners. Thankfully, many of them are free; I've rounded up five I really like. (Note that all links require iTunes.)

• AOL Radio Stream radio from over 200 stations spanning 25 music genres. It can even round up local stations. Who needs an FM tuner now?
• eReader As a longtime fan of reading e-books on my PDA, I'm overjoyed I can now do the same on my touch. This app lets you download books purchased at the eponymous site, and flip pages just by swiping your finger. Two public-domain books are included free so you can try it out.
• NYTimes Read the latest news, business stories, editorials, and more. It's a little slow right now, probably due to huge amounts of traffic, but talk about an incredible app: the entire New York Times in the palm of your hand!
• PhoneSaber Quite arguably the best use of the iPhone/touch tilt sensor ever, this clever bit of fluff is guaranteed to elicit a smile.
• Tap Tap Revenge Think 'Guitar Hero' for iPhone. You can download new tracks (a few are included) and even play head-to-head in the ridiculously sweet two-player mode.

(Credit: Rhapsody)

Watch out, AmazonMP3: Rhapsody just joined the DRM-free MP3 club. The music-subscription service's new MP3 store sells individual tracks for 99 cents and albums for $9.99. And if you're one of the first 100,000 folks to create an account by July 4, you can get a free album.

Strings? You do have to provide a credit card when you set up your account, and you have to install Rhapsody's MP3 Download Manager (Windows only), which can automatically add downloaded songs to your iTunes library. With that done, you'll immediately find a $10 credit in your account. (Note: You have to use it before July 4.)

As with AmazonMP3, Rhapsody's MP3s come free of copy protection, meaning you can use them with iPods and every other player on the planet. However, Rhapsody lets you preview full tracks before purchasing, whereas AmazonMP3 limits you to 30-second snippets. However, Amazon definitely has the edge in pricing, with many tracks and albums selling for $0.89 and $8.99, respectively (to say nothing of some sweet daily deals).

Of course, a free album is a free album, so hurry to Rhapsody and grab an account. You've got absolutely nothing to lose--and Brendan Benson's awesome Alternative to Love to gain. (What can I say, I'm a fan.)

(Credit: Amazon)

I've gushed before about AmazonMP3, the online music store that sells DRM-free MP3s at reasonable prices. Head there today and you can get The Police's Synchronicity--not just the song, but the complete album--for only $1.99. Head there tomorrow and you'll find another album on sale for around the same price. Wowza.

This "MP3 Daily Deal" is a new thing at AmazonMP3. Lest you think it's a clearinghouse for crummy albums no one wants, I give you Exhibit A: Synchronicity (arguably The Police's best album). Exhibit B: Coldplay's Parachutes (one of last week's deals). Exhibit C: The Shins' Wincing the Night Away (which was $3.99, still a killer deal).

Prices notwithstanding, the big draw of AmazonMP3 is right in the name: MP3. No DRM-soiled AAC or WMA files here--just universally compatible MP3s. If you're an iPod user, the AmazonMP3 download client can automatically add new purchases to your iTunes library, ready for syncing. Which begs the question: Is anyone still buying music from iTunes? Unless you can give me a good reason why, I may have to kick you out of the Cheapskate club. (Oh, who am I kidding... I would never kick anyone out of a club that would have me as a member.)

It's too bad AmazonMP3 doesn't have an RSS feed for the MP3 Daily Deal (meaning you have to visit the site every day to see what's on sale), but there is a Twitter feed. (Look, Twitter is finally useful for something!)

(Credit: Apple)

Update: It appears this may not work after all. And here I thought those Giz guys were crackerjacker hackers.

Renting movies from iTunes? Love it. Having to finish watching a movie within 24 hours of starting it? Not so much with the love. Fortunately, those crafty fellows over at Gizmodo figured out an easy way to turn the clock back, so to speak, thus extending your watchability window.

Basically, if you set your computer's clock ahead a few days (or weeks, or months) before starting the movie, then set it back to normal again, you'll have virtually unlimited time in which to finish watching. Already started the flick? Set the computer clock back a few days until you're able to reach the closing credits.

Apple will no doubt patch iTunes to prevent this little trick from working forever. But until then, at least you have a little more control over your rentals.