10 MUST HAVE APPLICATIONS FOR USING AN IPOD WITH WINDOWS!

After purchasing your very first iPod, have you connected

it to your PC and used it? Without the appropriate

applications, you will find it extremely difficult even

to get your player started! Here are 10 must-have

applications, compatible with Windows to enhance your

iPod experience.

1 ITUNES 8

THIS is where you can get started. Till a few years back,

the software was bundled along with the player, but not any

more. You can download the latest copy of iTunes + iPod from

www.apple.com/itunes/download. Install iTunes and plug in your

iPod to your computer. In your iTunes window, click the "File |

Sync iPod" menu command. And there you go, your iPod is up

and running! You can download a host of your favorite album art,

subscribe to Podcasts and also download your favorite television

show episodes. The only glitch is that the iTunes store is not

available worldwide. One advice, keep the "Manually manage

music and videos" option checked, or else the songs on your

iPod will be reset each time you connect the device to the iTunes.

Also if you upgrade the version of iTunes for your iPod, it will not

be compatible with any previous versions.

ITUNESFOLDERWATCH

IF YOU update your collection of songs frequently,

you might lose track of the number of files appearing in

your iTunes library. Even if you don’t add files, and you have

changed the original location of your files after adding them to

the library, iTunes does not search and replace them. To avoid

such a big confusion, you can use iTunesFolderWatch. You can

download a trial version of the software free of cost from http://

albumbrowser.klarita.net/iTunesFolderWatch.html.

You can directly import tracks into iTunes and they can be

eventualy organized automatically into playlists, making it very

easy for you to browse for any new additions that have been

made to your iTunes library.

ISPROGGLER

IF YOU are perpetually tuned into Last.fm, then this

one's for you. The iSproggler application "sproggles" or tracks

the songs that you play on your iPod and the name of the song

is added to your Last.fm music profile. The tracks are sproggled

from your iPod after you synchronize it with your iTunes. iTunes

picks up the tracks recently played on your iPod through the

updated play count.

ICONCERTCAL

IF YOU are waiting with baited breath to attend

concerts of your favorite bands, whose tracks are playing in loops

on your iPod, this application is for you. You can download this

free iTunes Plug-in from http://www.iconcertcal.com. Install the

add-in on your PC. You can view all your add-ins through iTunes

visualizations. Select the iConcertCal from "View | Visualizations"

menu command and press [Ctrl] + [T] to view it. Type your city

and state. And voila! You can view a personalized calendar of

upcoming concerts and what's more, you can buy the concert

tickets as well! This application is not avaliable outside a few

selected locations in the USA.

ENCYCLOPODIA

DO YOU crave for knowledge when on the go? Then

Wikipedia.org can come to your rescue. But how can you get an

enormous website like Wikipedia.org on your iPod? Well, you can

use an application called the Encyclopodia. While it is extremely

user friendly and easy to use, it doesn't work on, with the

following iPods, namely 5th Generation (Video), Nano, Video, and quite obviously the shuffle (it does not have a display). You can

download the application free of cost from http://encyclopodia.

sourceforge.net/en/index.html.

MINILYRICS

HAVE you always dreamt of having your own karaoke

machine at home, but couldn't afford one? Well with the help of

this application, you can make that dream come true. Although

you can't really use this on your iPod, but you can surely use

it with your iPod. You can add lyrics to your tracks and then

put them on your iPod. If you decide to play music from your

iPod, you can relay the lyrics by installing this application on

your target computer. For free download of the application

visit www.crintsoft.com/dl.htm. You can buy the application (or

donate to the website) if you like it.

DOUBLE KILLER

IF YOU collect music from many of your friends, this is

an absolute must-have, whether you own an iPod or not! You

don’t even need to install the software; just extract the contenst

of the zip file and run it on your machine. You can search folders

for duplicate files through combination of file name, size,

modification date and content and you can then delete them

manually or automatically. You can download a free copy of the

application from www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller.

SUPER

SUPER is an acronym for Simplified Universal Player

Encoder & Renderer. With this application, you can convert both

audio and video files to file format that your iPod supports. You can also separate the music from any video file, if you need to

do so. Hence, you can have store your media files irrespective

of their formats and, eventually ensure that your iPod can play

them with the help of SUPER. Free download of the application is

available at www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html.

ARES TUBE

YOU might have used many add-ons for your web

browser so that you can download and view videos from popular

video sharing websites. Have you ever dreamt of downloading

videos directly for your iPod, that too without any format

conversion? Then you need this application. Although you can

use an application called iTube to download videos directly from

youtube to your iPod, with this application, you get access to

over 45 web portals to download videos from. You can download

the application free of cost from http://ares.mp3.es.

MEDIA MONKEY

SOME people find iTunes difficult to use especially

because there are hardly any add-ons for non MAC users.

Moreover, the server of the iTunes store is either down, or it isn't

available in most countries. Also, the iTunes player tends to be

extremely selective of the media that it plays and eventually

saves it on to your iPod. You can avoid these issues altogether

by switching your loyalties to another application. One such

freeware is Media Monkey. It provides you with all the features

of iTunes, is lighter on your system, because it does not run

multiple applications simultaneously. Moreover, you can also rip

music CDs. The application is free and can be downloaded from

www.mediamonkey.com/download.