10 ways to stay out of jail- absolutely free

Last week a woman in America was found guilty of sharing 24 songs on her PC, and fined just under a quarter of a million dollars.

However, had she known about the plethora of services out there which let you access limitless music, TV and movies free and legally, she could have saved herself a pretty penny. Here are 10 of the best:

1. Deezer

Get access to almost any track imaginable, make playlists, and even have it suggest music you might like.

2. Hype Machine

Hype Machine is a service that brings together all the major music blogs, and posts all the MP3s in one place. A great way to discover up and coming bands.

3. 4OD

Channel 4’s on demand service has just become Windows Vista compatible. Most current programs can be viewed for free, and the service also offers film rentals for as little as 99p.

4. Joost

The Joost TV service has just come out of private beta, and is now free for anyone to download. The service features over 250 channels and boasts over 15,000 TV shows, from which you can pick and choose.

5. Internet TV

One for the US: Internet TV is Microsoft’s television on demand service, which has been launched through Windows Media Center. While the programming is still limited, Microsoft has already secured the brilliant Arrested Development.

6. 7digital

7digital is an online music store specialising in DRM free, high quality MP3s. However, there's also a healthy dose of free MP3s available on the site, from such diverse artists as The Fratellis, Dave Gorman and the Mighty Boosh.

7. Shoutcast

Shoutcast professes to be the home of free internet radio, a claim that is quite hard to dispute. It features thousands of stations playing everything from bluegrass to breakbeat, and everything in between.

8. BBC Radio Player

If you want free music delivered to your desktop, look no further than the BBC Radio gadget. It sits happily on your Windows Sidebar, and streams any BBC radio station. Download from the Windows Live gadget gallery.

9. Last.fm

The UK’s own social networking service keeps track of the music you listen to on your PC, and then plays you recommendations from its enormous music database. A great way to discover music you didn’t know you liked.

10. Podcasting

Everyone has a podcast these days, and they're a great way of getting entertainment on the move. iTunes has an extensive list in its music store, and what’s best, they’re all free!