In June 2001 Apple introduced the world to iTunes, a music marketplace that largely changed the way we buy music. And now, almost a decade later rumor has it that Apple wants to revolutionize the way we get our television delivered by offering all you can watch TV for $30.

Before Apple can offer consumers the opportunity to ditch their cable subscriptions for an all-you-can-watch plan it has to convince the television networks that it's a good idea, just like it did with the music labels.

Given the numerous side projects of networks, like CBS' TV.com, and the attempts by cable companies to restrict online streaming to customers, Apple faces a big hurdle before it can offer a $30 unlimited TV package.

Royal Caribbean's newest behemoth, the Oasis of the Seas, doesn't arrive in our waters for another couple of weeks, but pictures of the awesome cruise ship are already appearing in the news.

How could they not? She's the largest cruise ship on the planet, towering 20 stories over the waves and cutting a 1,180-foot-long profile against the horizon. On board, there's space for 6,300 paying guests, 2,000 crew members, a 1,300-seat theater (larger than some on Broadway), some duplex cabins, an ice rink, an indoor/outdoor park, and a cocktail bar that travels from deck to deck via an elevator system.

WalletPop will be on board for her maiden voyage out of Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 20, and our own Jason Cochran will bring you video proof of this astonishing new feat of engineering.

The opening scene of the new movie Trucker, about a tough, single female truck driver confronted with motherhood, will grab you. Not because it's a woman having an orgasm, or that the woman is sexy, girl-next-door Michelle Monaghan, but that it looks incredibly authentic.

Throughout the 93-minutes of Trucker, you can watch it on mute and still feel the gritty transition that Monaghan's character is forced to go through. Her acting is just that raw. (Oscar time!)

Admitting to drinking on the job during a live television interview would typically be considered a bad career move.

Not for Sue Simmons, though. The WNBC-TV New York anchor recently appeared on a chirpy lifestyle show, LX New York, where she admitted that she used to have a drink or two before going on the air.

So why hasn't the anchor been shown the studio door? Those days of boozy dinners before the evening news hour happened more than 20 years ago, she says. And after such a late confession, Simmons, who has been at WNBC for 28 years, isn't likely to lose her job.

"That stopped in the mid-'80s, late '80s," Simmons said in the interview with Bravo executive-turned-night-show host Andy Cohen. "Because I looked in the mirror before -- when I was about ready to go on the air -- and my eyes were red."

Everyone's favorite satirical news source, The Onion, is coming out with a brand new book, Our Front Pages: 21 Years of Greatness, Virtue, And Moral Rectitude From America's Finest News Source, just in time for the holidays.

The book shows you vintage Onion, going back to 1988, to the satirical paper's University of Wisconsin-Madison days, in black and white. With an introduction by NBC's Brian Williams, funny beyond the anchor desk, Our Front Pages has timeless headlines like "Panhandler Strike Enters Third Week," "Secondhand Smoke Causes Secondhand Coolness," and "War! Come On, Let's Have One!"

In Walletpop's Big News Podcast, I talked with editor-in-chief, Joe Randazzo, and web and politics editor, Baratunde Thurston about the political divisions in America today, and stupid people. In our discussion, you'll find out the do's and don'ts to landing a job at The Onion. Happy headline writing, y'all!

If you want to be popular on Halloween night, give out chocolate. That's among the many fun Halloweeen facts I found on the spooky night.

• The Census Bureau estimates that 36 million kids between the ages of 5 and 13 will trick-or-treat this year on Halloween. (Many of the ghosts and ghoulies that visit my house are under five, while some are old enough to drive from house to house, so the total number of TOTers is certainly higher.)
• There are 111.4 million occupied housing units in the country, also known as targets to this ravenous horde.
• 41% of givers scarf down some of the candy they bought for the night, and 90% of parents admit to stealing some of their childrens' plunder.
• Chocolate is the most common handout (52%). Thirty percent of households give out hard candy or lollipops. One in four spring for full-sized candies. The rest hand out the misnamed "fun" size.
• The most popular candy gifts as ranked by children:

1. Chocolate, 68%
2. Lollipops, 9%
3. Gummy candy, 7%
4. Gum, 7%

I wonder if I'm making a mistake by handing out dental floss this year?

• Happily, 93% of people residing in households consider their neighborhoods safe. I wonder how many nations in the world can match that?
• The U.S. grew 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins last year, equivalent to over 1,100 B-747s. The most gourd-friendly state? Illinois, which produced almost half of the Jack-o-lantern blanks.
• The average American consumed 23.8 pounds of candy last year. Yes, I did my share of the work.
• We will spend around $2.23 billion on candy during the seven days leading up to Halloween, according to a spokesperson for the National Confectioners Association.
• The Jack-o-lantern is a tradition brought to the U.S. by Irish immigrants, who back home had carved them out of rutabagas and other root vegetables.
• The pumpkin originated in Mexico around 7,000 B.C.
• The winning pumpkin in the Circleville Ohio Pumpkin festival this year weighed 1,635.5 lbs., more than the combined weight of the Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup plus their coach.

You might wonder what could be done with such a pumpkin? How about this?

Despite the gloomy news that Americans are shelling out fewer bucks on Halloween paraphernalia (approximately $10 less per person), analysts say we're still spending. Estimates put Halloween at a $437 billion-a-year industry.

And most of the average $56.31 that each of us is pouring into the season is being funneled toward spooky, sexy and silly costumes.

Some will be cute. Others frightful. But celebrities -- or at least their pint-sized alter egos -- are what analysts are forecasting as most likely to land at your doorstep this Saturday. With celebrity-related masks, make-up and mustaches flying off store shelves, neighborhood streets will be transformed into red -- err, orange and black -- carpets this Halloween.

My jaw hit the floor when I read the "what could they be thinking?" announcement that Microsoft had commissioned an entire half-hour special by the maker and cast of the adult cartoon hit "Family Guy". The show was to include plugs embedded in the narrative extolling the virtues of its new Windows 7 operating system.

Had they ever watched his show, I asked myself? Apparently they have now, as the company announced it is dropping the idea.

Gee, I wonder what part of Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane's oeuvre offended their Microsensibilities?

Now that the New York Yankees and Jay-Z are going to the World Series (Jay-Z to sing, the Yankees to play baseball), fans can expect to have their pockets picked by Major League Baseball a little more next year.

It may not be the end of civilization, but if the Yankees win the World Series, it will likely mean higher prices at baseball stadiums across America.

Listening is a great skill, one that will get you far in life and far in relationships. It will also help you become better at your personal finances. There are many personal finance and consumer podcasts out there, including WalletPop's podcasts, but one of my favorite podcasts is the Consumerism Commentary.

Consumerism Commentary, which kicked off its second season interviewing Baker from Man Vs. Debt, is consistently a must listen to podcast because the show brings in interesting guests who share great advice and cool new tools and tips to better manage your life and finances.

Scot Sandra Burt was singing to herself to pass the time as she stocked shelves at the grocery store where she works, in Clackmannashire, Scotland. Imagine her surprise when the UK's Performing Right Society (PRS), sent her a letter warning that she could be fined for singing songs written by its clients without paying a royalty.

Apparently, PRS and the store owners had already tangled once over unlicensed music broadcast in the store. PRS has since come to its senses and sent Burt a letter of apology.

However, the question reminded me of a fact I came across recently; the rights to the song "Happy Birthday To You" are privately owned, and every time it is performed in public, such as at a local restaurant, money is due the owners of the song. I heard this sung by the staff of a restaurant to honor a customer just two days ago, and I'm betting I witnessed an act of piracy.

Itching to spend? Go shopping online -- and we don't mean on an e-commerce site.

The New York Times reports that consumers formerly known as shopaholics are acting out their old retail lust in cyberspace -- outfitting their Second Life, There or IMVU avatars in the latest Jimmy Choo stilettos and Gucci bags.

I can still hear myself at the age of 10, whining "There's nothing to DO!" The designers of the new web site Goby.com must have had the same experience, and created this tool for just that purpose. Unfortunately, like many fledgling sites, it isn't ready for prime time yet.

Goby.com's search feature is pleasingly simple. It asks three questions: what (do you want to do) where (do you want to do it) and when. The first field, what, has a drop down menu for categories including places to go, food and drink, events, fall fun, places to stay, family fun, etc. With a few clicks, I found out that

• Mute Math is playing in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend
• I can get a room at the Holiday Inn in Marietta, Ohio, for $86
• There is a playground in Klein Park in Las Cruces, N.M.
• The American Museum of Radio and Electricity in Bellingham, Wash., is $2 per person
• A ghost tour in Tuscon, Ariz.,. apparently is taking place at Voyager RV Park, which claims a "special feeling of a real community, wonderful friends, neighbors, and the endless array of things to do and places to go..." but few ghosts.

Controversial rapper Nas has another battle to fight these days. In addition to a very public divorce with soon to be ex-Kelis, Nas has landed himself in hot water with the IRS.

Nas, who has already been ordered to pay Kelis $44,000 per month in child and spousal support, plus attorney's fees and other costs, has apparently not been making payments to the IRS. The result, according to gossip site, TMZ, is that a federal tax lien has been filed against Nas for an astonishing $2,584,206.31. Reportedly, Nas, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, has not paid his federal income taxes for 2006 and 2007.

Move over, Richard Hatch. Adam Jasinski is the latest reality TV winner to allegedly use his jackpot winnings in ways that are outside the law. Last year, he won $500,000 on the CBS show Big Brother.

How would you use that kind of windfall? Well, Big Brother (the government one this time, not the network show) thinks he knows how he spent it.