How to create a US iTunes account? (credit card not required)

The best things in life are free

- Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross

Remember i blogged apps that could tickle the wild side of imagination? and i put a notice at the end of the article that although these apps are free, they are selective to which country you're in, that is, the app may be available for download Only in the U.S. and not possible to download anywhere else amongst the countries that are supported.

When i was new to iTunes, i originally set up my account to my default country which was Philippines, but when i try purchasing FREE apps, i couldn't buy it unless i have to configure my credit card info (which i don't wanna do ). So with the help of blogs, google and Chester, i decided to undo my jailbreak to my iPhone (right after the advent of iOS 4.0.2) and now enjoying the benefits of having a US Itunes account

The two most gorgeous benefits of having a US iTunes account are:

1. More and more and more free applications are available

2. Credit card is optional! meaning, you can buy those free apps without being asked for a credit card. (say your iTunes account was created in a country other than U.S. and you wanna download those free applications for your iPad or iPhone or iPod, it requires you to have a credit card, this is insane right? - the app is free, how come it's asking for a credit card?. Relax, cuz  all these strains on the neck are bypassed when you have a US iTunes account. Read on to know more...)

What you will need:

1. Gmail email address (it's a must, click here to get one)

2. You must have your latest iTunes software downloaded (ready to fire up)

How to do it:

1. Open up iTunes. (make sure to sign out if you have an existing account signed it alreay)

2. If your current location is other than United States, (say, you are in Stockholm Sweden). Scroll down all the way down to the bottom of iTunes and you will see a flag at the bottom right corner, make sure that United States is selected.

3. Now, click on the AppStore (all the way up, along the headings tab) and select one free application of your choice. (make sure it's the free one)

4. After you clicked on the FREE link, it will take you to the sign in dialog box. Click the Create New Account.

5. Fill in the necessary info until you get into this page (the critical part, so that it will not ask you to enter credit card info later):

- make sure to put a +1 from your email address you have entered (this works only with gmail)

on the example below, the original email is john.doe@gmail.com; but i added a +1 after the john.doe, so it now appears as john.doe+1@gmail.com

- don't forget to plug in your year of birth.

(click image to view larger)

6. The next screen should look like the one below. Hooray!, there is an option for NONE beside the Credit Card info.

Tick on None and fill in the address slots. Make sure to use a U.S. address. If you don't know any address from the US. Check google :)

(click image to view larger)

7. Click Continue and you're almost done. The wizard will send the verification email to your inputted email. Make sure to verify it by clicking the link and you're set.

8. After verifying, log in to iTunes and you can now purchase apps from the US iTunes Store.

Happy shopping.

~mAc

Mad World...

Don't be afraid to see what you see. 

Ronald Reagan 

Call me "senti" or whatever, but this song just sweepingly makes me realize the message of it. I've been humming this back in 2009 when my ex introduced me to the lyrics and melody, i sort of kinda appreciate it but the harmony of the song slowly faded in my memory. Currently at that time, it was revived by American Idol's Adam Lambert. I knew it beforehand that someone popularized the song back in the past, it has never occurred to me though who's the artist behind this hit, until just now...

Gary Jules.

If you listen intently, notice how he articulated the word "funny". There's a kind of a slight thwang on it, in contrast to Lambert's rendition.

As per the video, i just couldnt figure out the words (or are they really trying to form words?) being emphasize thru man made formation of the sorts. And then 'till now, it doesn't make sense to me what are they trying to do.

If you've got an idea, leave it on the comments.

~mAc

Random thoughts

If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask someone else first. 

Kurt Cobain 

I haven't blog here at macDosage for three days in a row, it's not that i ran out of topic but i just don't feel like sitting infront of my screen for the past days.  (i'm done reading Tom Harper's Book of Secrets, yey! Finally).

Now that the climate here is on the transition period, where summer time is almost on its end, winter is trying to creep in so slowly, i could now feel a light frigidity of the running water in the early mornings without turning on the heater. I delved up my fingers once and for all to let out what's going on inside my mind.

There's a lot actually, i'm bombarded with so much info nowadays due to my prolific reading on my google reader cum feeds(my subscriptions alone are barely scrolled and read), twitter trends, newser, nytimes' popular posts, not to mention facebook friends' "what's on your mind?" status messages, email and the never ending maze at work; plus my start-stop reading of digital books before i go to slumber. This has left me filled with infinite fullness of thoughts that i seem to forget small details recently like doing my TODO list and laundry. 

I guess i'm feeling lousy a little bit... not minding the time, somehow enjoying every second that counts. Feeling elated at times, and has been happy for the consistency i'm trying to muster. It's like trying to indulge more in letting go of the imperfections that comes along the way, somehow dawning on me to accept without mind-boggling regrets about things that's happening as i move on further on the path.

A friend of mine took me to a fruit shop recently to quench our thirst. I totally wish that the store is nearby in my place for me to become a loyal and solid customer. Remember that i blogged about Mama Noorah's fruit shop before? This time, the specialty fruit store is solely catering to delicacies out of real Fresh fruits. Good heavens!!! The quava shake is indescribable!

My passion for fruits has increased further, although i've long been a fruit shake aficionado back in the homeland, i'm feeling a lil bit nostalgic remembering the halved- opened coconut shell with smooth flesh of buko inside, topped with mixed fruit, milk and crushed ice. Oh Whoa! I really can't remember now, what's the name of the stall inside the SM malls.

While sipping thru my shake, I was imagining of sailing thru life after all these years. I'd like to be consistent with simplicity and minimalism. Sometimes less is more...

~mAc

Riceless Regimen

Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something. 

Mitch Hedberg 

I started my feat of not eating rice on occasional basis last Ramadan season this year. During that one- month long regimen, i barely included rice in my food intake, 4 to max of incidents (if my memory will not fail me) -  probably i have consumed this cereal grain - Oryza sativa s a.k.a. RICE. My reservoir of carbohydrates then were purely from fruits and my periodic eating of pasta cuisines. Sad to say, as soon as Ramadan had ended this year, i started my rice intake again.

I can see the obvious that i lost weight after executing the planned diet. The weighing scale smiled so wide telling my current weight. The experience is flauntingly contented, i felt the literal meaning of the "minimalist concept", sending my body physique to elation. And yes! my stomach is as flat as the horizon.

It has been emphatic that as soon as i have started this rice intake in just a week, my abdomen immediately reacted so profusely, drawing out unwanted and unnecessary bulge again (sigh!). I have indulged further, not minding my carbo intake without burning them (cuz i had reprieved myself in doing my 30-minute work-outs everyday, like a criminal of guiltless enjoyment).

Before i knew it, i stepped on the brake and reflected once again to stick to the planned diet and my routinary 4 times a week work-out. (thanks for the motivating article i read about rice, it's dangerous to your health).

The link above strongly recommends to abstain from eating rice, or at least to a minimum per meal. I do agree with it. The cavemen were raw fooders, imagine the time when fire wasn't discovered yet. They are taking in raw, uncooked food - Must have been the reason why the people in the olden days have longer life span. Think of Methuselah - the grandfather of Noah. This guy lived the earth for 969 years.

~mAc

Innuendo

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. 

Winston Churchill 

Carelessness of thoughts, imminent and recurring
Shove away those snafu feeling
Let me sustain thee, colliding fire
The rendezvouz of unhinged barrier

Oh come, submission
Extinguish the trumpet of the demon
Thyself appear in sobriety
Let me congest with utmost honesty

Elusive consistency, hear thy cry
As supplications for sanity and vividness
Of purity and freedom in the senses
May be prolonged to eternity unrest

Ever-guiding light, please admonish
Plow the darkness set unleashed
Forever burn for your luminance
To guard me with your countenance





~mAc