If you're like me, you struggle daily with running iTunes on Windows Vista. OK, most of you probably aren't like me. You are likely far wiser and realized long ago that this is a fruitless exercise. Being stubborn, I dutifully load up each morning iTunes and check to see if Apple has finally released the update that they've been sitting on for so long. Today, after months of frustration, I wasn't disappointed.

Apple released iTunes 7.2 without much fanfare. This update includes important compatibility fixes for Windows Vista (most notably the painting of the main window is faster) and Apple's new iTunes Plus format for higher-quality, DRM-free music and video. This is very exciting stuff but the feature that I find even most interesting was added a bit more quietly: iTunes U.

iTunes U provides access within iTunes to recorded lectures from several major universities (e.g. MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, etc.). Some universities have more offerings than others, but there are plenty of computer science and mathematics lectures available for the nerdiest among us. Need a refresher on algorithms? Try MIT's Introduction to Algorithms course. Looking for more general lectures on programming? Download UC Berkeley's Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.

Of course, the best feature of iTunes U is that it's free!

Truthfully, the content that iTunes U offers is not new. MIT, for example, has offered course downloads for several years. However, making the resources available from iTunes greatly extends their reach and gives me one more way to put my iPod to good use.