If you’re reading this on the UB Stampede, take a quick glance around. Chances are most of the people around you are listening to their iPods, staring blankly off into space. With more than 141 million iPods sold worldwide, owners were bound to develop their own software programs to get the most out of their little Apple friend. While most of us use iTunes to interact with our iPods, tech geeks around the Internet have offered up alternative programs that promise more efficiency and better results than what we’re used to. Here are some worth mentioning.
Floola.com
Rating: 3/10
Floola is a program that offers people an alternative to iTunes. Rather than bombard you with unnecessary information and frequent annoying updates, it simply puts music and videos onto your iPod. Many people have praised Floola for its user-friendliness. Owners can interact directly with their iPod, and add or delete songs without the iTunes middleman. The good thing about Floola is its simplicity. For one, there is no program installation necessary. Once it’s downloaded, all you have to do is plug your iPod in and open the program, but that’s where the pros end. After putting a few songs onto my iPod, I ejected it and quickly realized Floola had completely scrambled all of the album art on my iPod. None of the art matched with the correct album. Floola also claims it can play the songs on your iPod while it’s connected to your computer, but it gave an error message every time I tried to play a track.
Yamipod.com
Rating: 7/10
Yamipod is another iTunes alternative. Like Floola, no installation is necessary; just plug your iPod in and go. Yamipod, however, is much more stable than the deceptive Floola. The program also loads a lot faster than iTunes because it doesn’t have to deal with features like iTunes radio or an online store. Songs are also transferred at a faster rate. The interface isn’t flashy; it’s actually quite dull. But, it organizes artists, albums, and genres into neat columns. All users have to do is click and drag songs off their computer, drop it into the Yamipod program, and they’re automatically on the iPod. While Yamipod makes iPod access faster, it disappoints as an actual media player. It promised song playback, but I couldn’t get a track to play by simply double-clicking it like in iTunes. Instead, I had to search around and eventually got the song to play by clicking a random button that said “enqueue track.” Who would’ve known that? iPod owners also do not have the ability to edit album art, but unless you’re OCD about that like I am, Yamipod serves as a great substitute for iTunes.
Albumcoverfinder.com
Rating: 9/10
Here’s a handy little program to help iPod owners add a little art to their music. The program, once downloaded and installed, is incredibly easy. Simply type in the musician’s name and the album you want artwork for, and voila! The program searches the entire Amazon.com database and produces the desired cover art. I was truly amazed at how thorough this tool was. Nine out of ten times, it was able to find the artwork I wanted, even for some pretty obscure bands. The website offers both a free version and a pro version, which costs $11. Users are welcome to take a trial run of the pro version for free. It comes with a more thorough search, an album review, as well as the ability to recognize and label any songs playing in iTunes at that moment. However, the free version should serve users just fine.
Kennettnet.co.uk/musicrescue
Rating: 8/10
Has your computer ever crashed, sending your entire music library into oblivion? With Music Rescue, you can now sleep easy. This program allows users to take music off the iPod and copy it back onto the computer, a feature not offered by iTunes. Music Rescue scans your iPod, and then produces a list of every song in it. You can copy the entire library, or choose certain tracks. Really want that new Kanye West album that’s on your friend’s iPod? If you have Music Rescue, you can plug their iPod into your computer and copy the album onto your PC or Mac. The only annoying part about this program is it asks for a donation every fifty songs you copy, but besides that, it makes a great addition for any iPod owner.
Zamzar.com
Rating: 9/10
Zamzar is actually a website, not a program. The site allows you to convert videos from any format into iPod videos, as long as it’s less than 100 megabytes. After it is done converting, Zamzar sends you an e-mail with a download link for the video. Zamzar’s best feature is its ability to convert directly from a URL, meaning you can take videos from anywhere on the Internet and put it onto your iPod. Now you can bring classic viral videos like “My New Haircut,” and “Star Wars Kid” with you everywhere you go.
Ihoundsoftware.com
Rating: 10/10
The iHound software could become your new best friend. iHound is a security application that helps owners locate their iPod should it ever get stolen. After you create an account with the site, iHound provides a tracker to be downloaded directly into the iPod. From then on, anytime your iPod is plugged into a computer other than your own, iHound will send you an e-mail, telling you it has found your device. Your account will then provide you with a map of the location, the location’s precise latitude and longitude, the computer’s IP address, the ISP, and other valuable information. You can bring this to the authorities and they should have no problem getting back your iPod. Oh, and the best part? It’s all free. iHound offers free tracking for up to three devices. It can even track other electronics such as a cell phone or a digital camera.
For all of iTunes’ idiosyncrasies, it’s worth checking out these other software programs. They may save you from a major headache.
