Just a Thought - More Free Stuff

by

- August 4th, 2006

I like getting stuff for free. I don't care if it's a plastic trinket that is next to useless, if it's free, I'll take it.

When you go to trade shows, or conventions you can usually find vendors offering you samples of this, or bits of that with their name prominently displayed so that you'll remember them the next time you clean out that drawer that contains several years worth of odds and ends gathered from various sources.

I also like going to the market and getting the free food samples. True, some of the stuff offered forces you to stifle your gag reflex, but mostly it's tasty goodness served up on crackers or small plastic dishes. The local Publix supermarket usually has a nice lady stationed just beyond the store's entrance fixing one of the Apron's recipes. The samples are generous, and the food is often quite tasty. Also, from time to time you can find wine samples as well. Dinner, with wine. Free.

Trade shows, and supermarkets aren't the only places you can find free stuff. A while ago I told you about how Apple and Spike TV got together and offered the pilot episode of Blade: The Series as a free download. I thought it was a great way to get people to watch a show that might not get noticed otherwise (I wish this option was around when Firefly premiered on Fox a few years back, maybe the show would still be running. Ah, what could have been...).

Anyway, those of you who pay attention to such things will have noted that there are several more pilots and new episodes now available on the iTunes Music store for less than a song; that is to say they are free, but only for a limited time. Currently (as of 07/29/2006), you can get the pilot episodes of Tabloid Wars and Who Wants to Be A Super Hero, both of which you may decide to pass on anyway, and a new episode of 30 Days.

But wait, that not all: More free stuff is coming to the iTunes Music Store. If the previews I saw in the theater recently is any indication, NBC has a new show in its Fall lineup that looks really interesting called Heroes. It's about a group of ordinary people who find they have extraordinary powers. The pilot episode is supposed to be available on the iTunes Music Store. The preview didn't say when it is supposed to be available; I checked while writing this and the show did appear in iTMS at all, so I can only assume that it is coming. So keep checking.

This show is right up my alley, and I'm hoping the pilot lives up to my expectations. But, what's really great about this is that... well, it's free! Free to download, free from commercials (we'll see how long that lasts), and free to watch whenever you like. And, unlike those silly plastic baubles that sit in junk draws and never get used, this freebie may actually get some play, and I'm sure that's what NBC and Apple is banking on.

From the looks of the show's trailer, someone actually tried to make an interesting drama that isn't based on police work or hospitals, and it looks like the creators of Heroes spent some real cash on script writers and camera people.

As with the Blades: The Series freebie, these new free shows validate the theory that Apple is continually redefining itself, centering the iTunes Music Store as 'the' media outlet.

Hmm, maybe Apple should change the name to the iTunes Media Store.

I think I'll load up a video iPod and pay a visit to Publix; dinner and a movie for free! Life can be good.

Update: As of 8/4/2006 these shows are available for free on the iTunes Music Store:

• USA Networks: Psych Pilot
• ABC Family: Three Moons Over Milford Pilot
• SciFi Channel: Best of Ghost Hunters Vol.1
• SciFi: Who Wants To Be A Super Hero? Pilot
• FX: 30 Days 1 and 2

is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He's been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.

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