Modern technology has brought us many portable entertainment devices over the last few decades. In the 1980s, we were introduced to the portable AM/FM radios and portable cassette players. They were a hit for those who wanted to listen to music while walking, jogging, or doing other outdoor activities. In the 1990s, we were introduced to the portable CD player, which quickly replaced the cassette. Apple iPods became the portable music player to own in the 21st century.

Portable iPods at present have different functions than only playing music, as movie and video files can also be played. While travelling, if a person wants to listen to music or see a movie, it is unnecessary for him to purchase a music playing device, a laptop computer or a DVD player. Multimedia players and iPods have the capacity to store and play a big amount of video and audio content.

You are now ready to obtain content and move it on to your device. A wide array of sites offer movies and music for free. However, many of these places are covers for viruses or fronts for other malicious programs that steal personal information. Be very careful when downloading anything from an unknown site.

You can create problems for yourself if you use the Internet for filesharing of illegally-copied media, such as music or movies. Also, there is the issue of computer security. By filesharing, your computer is open to attack from all sorts of nasty software out there, as well as computer hackers and people who steal your individual information.

It is possible for those on a budget to find a reputable source for free music or video downloads. There are many promotional sites that promote new artists and offer free downloads legally. Some established artists will also offer free downloads from their websites. They may only provide sample clips for free, if they are very well known.

Another option is to subscribe to a media library, or pay for each file as you download, whether it be music or video. To get exactly what you are looking for, and to have access to your favorite artists and movies, paying for your downloaded media is always the safest option.

During the 21st century, Apple iPods replaced the portable cassette player or CD player to become the new portable music players of choice. In addition to music, iPods enable people to access videos and movie files as well. There are a few options for getting iPod movie downloads or iPod music downloads. Some free file sharing sites exist online, but you need to be careful. Not only do they contain some pirated and illegal content, but you are also exposing your computer to potential hackers, viruses, adware, and spyware. It's possible to find free mp3 downloads from the artists themselves from their websites, so check it out.