The 20 Best Ipod Utilities

With a new generation of iPods on the market this holiday season, your reliable old iPod may not seem as shiny as it once did. But with the help of third party applications and utilities, you can unlock tons of useful functionality you never knew was there and revive that aging iPod so it doesn't look quite so bad next to its successors. Whether new or old, the following 20 iPod utilities can help you get the most from your iPod.

Transfer (and Play) Music to and from Your iPod

While syncing music to your iPod has always been a breeze, pulling music off your iPod isn't quite at easy—unless you're using one of these handy apps, that is.



* Ditch Itunes with Floola (Windows/Mac/Linux): Floola is a freeware, cross-platform application that makes it easy to copy music and videos to and from your iPod from and to any computer. In all, Floola can actually work as a full-on iTunes replacement that can run from your iPod's hard drive. And because it's cross platform, Floola makes for an excellent all-around iTunes replacement if you're not a fan of iTunes. For another cross-platform solutions, you might give YamiPod a try.



* Recover Your Library or Transfer New Songs to iTunes with Senuti (Mac): The freeware, Mac OS X only Senuti integrates tightly with your iTunes library to extract music from your iPod to your iTunes library and works particularly well for importing music that isn't already in your iTunes library. Of course it's also a godsend if you've had a hard drive failure and your only music backup is your iPod, but its playlist support and ability to scan your existing library so you avoid importing duplicate songs.




* Dead Simple iTunes Library Recovery with iPod -> Folder (Windows/Mac): If all you want to do is recover your music library from your iPod back to your computer, iPod -> Folder is probably the simplest way to do it. Just fire it up, point it to your iPod, point it to a folder on your computer, and let it rip. It even has a "Include MP3 files only" option in case you're borrowing tunes from a friend's iPod and you don't want their DRM-infected files.



* Sync Podcasts to Your iPod from Any Computer with myPodder (Windows/Mac/Linux): Whether you're a lover of podcasts who can't wait to get to your home computer before getting your latest podcast fix or you just know you'll need a few new podcasts to listen to for the commute home, myPodder can automatically download, manage, and sync any podcast to your iPod no matter whose computer you're using.

Converters: Video and Audiobook

Yes, you could purchase TV shows and movies from iTunes, but if you've already got the DVD or you've downloaded a video that happens to be in the wrong format, why should you shell out more cash to Apple—especially when you can easily convert them for your iPod using free apps?

* DVDs for Your iPod with HandBrake (Windows/Mac/Linux): The cross-platform freeware application HandBrake is the go-to application when you want to rip a DVD for your iPod or iPhone (or PSP or PS3 or AppleTV...). Just pop in your DVD, pick what you want for your iPod, and start ripping.



* Videos for Your iPod with Videora iPod Converter (Windows): If you've got a video file on your computer that your iPod doesn't support, fear not. Just plug it into Videora and let it do the heavy lifting for you. It even transcodes YouTube videos—all you need to do is give it the URL.




* Videos for Your iPod with iSquint (Mac): Make any video iPod-compatible with iSquint. Just drag the videos you want to convert into the iSquint queue, choose the encoding quality (which will also determine file size and time required to encode), and let it rip. You can even tell iSquint to automatically add the video to your iTunes library once it's done encoding.

* Convert YouTube Videos for Your iPod with Zamzar: Web site Zamzar is probably best known for converting pretty much any file format to any other file format (and it can be used for pretty much any iPod video conversion if you prefer it), but you may not have known that it also provides a simple method for converting any YouTube video for your iPod. Just enter the URL of the video, choose to convert it for your iPod, and it'll email the finished product to you once it complete the conversion.


* Monitor Folders and Automatically Convert Videos with iPodifier (Windows): iPodifier transcodes files just like Videora and iSquint, but if you're a frequent video downloader or you're rolling your own DVR, iPodifier can be set to monitor a folder for new videos—like your BitTorrent downloads folder, for example—and automatically transcode them for your iPod.



* MP3 to iPod Audio Book Converter (Windows): If you love a good audiobook but your book isn't in the right format for your iPod, this handy little app will convert your MP3s to the iPod audiobook format (M4B) so you get all of the audiobook features like playback speed adjustment and "start from last position" functionality without the tedium of doing it yourself.

Miscellaneous iPod Utilities

* Your iPod with Last.fm with iSproggler (Windows) and iScrobbler (Mac): If you're a fan of the music recommendation service Last.fm and you happen to do most of your music listening on your iPod, you can automatically upload your iPod listening habits to the site with whichever application matches your operating system. Just install, enter your Last.fm username and password, and forget it.

* Take Control of Your Shuffle with iPod Shuffle Database Builder (Windows/Mac/Linux): Add songs to your iPod shuffle by simply dragging them to your shuffle without touching iTunes—making it much more like a non-iPod MP3 player that lets you manage your music using your filesystem.

* Backup Your Home Folder to Your iPod with iPodBackup (Mac): iPodBackup saves an encrypted image of your Mac's home folder to your iPod with incremental, secure backups—great for those of you who iPod have several spare gigs of storage leftover even after you've synced your iTunes library.

Upgrades for Older iPods

A number of third party applications and utilities exist to expand the functionality of your existing iPod by modifying or installing new software onto your iPod. For example:




* Upgrade Your iPod Video to an iPod classic (Windows): When Apple released the iPod classic, they gave it a simple visual refresh that one would think could easily be retrofitted to older iPods, but for whatever reason Apple's not letting your run the fancy new interface on your older iPod. A replacement firmware for your video iPod brings the splitscreen interface of the updated iPod classic to your older video iPod.



* Put Wikipedia on Your iPod with Encyclopodia: (Windows/Mac/Linux) The open source Encyclopodia project brings the giant repository of knowledge that is Wikipedia to your iPod. Searching Wikipedia on the iPod is a bit of a chore (you have to type out your words with the clickwheel), but once you get used to it it feels pretty good to carry Wikipedia in your pocket. This one's for decidedly older iPods, since it won't work on 5G iPods or above, nanos, and, of course, shuffles.

* Install Linux on Your iPod with iPod Linux: Had enough of the default iPod interface and want to jazz things up a little bit so you can do things like install and play games for free on your iPod? Replace the default iPod firmware with iPod Linux (or hell, use the graphical dual boot interface and run both). iPod Linux is supported on mostly older iPod generations.
* Replace Your iPod Firmware with Rockbox: Supporting every iPod through the 5.5G video iPods, Rockbox is an open source firmware replacement for the iPod (and other MP3 players). Rockbox can sport everything from Last.fm support, album art, a port of the video game Doom, a Game Boy emulator, video player, and tons more.

iPhone and iPod touch Only

Okay, so if you do happen to have one of the fancier new iPods, you do have access to a few other fairly exciting third-party developments.

* Install Applications on an iPhone: This video demonstrates how to "jailbreak" your iPhone or iPod touch running the current firmware (1.1.2) so you can install third party applications (many of which are really impressive). If you're still running 1.1.1, installing applications only takes one click.
* Wirelessly Stream Music from Your iPod touch or iPhone to Any iTunes Library: Assuming you can install apps on your iPhone/iPod touch (see above), you can also stream your 'Pod's music library wirelessly to any computer on the same network. That means next time you want your friend to listen to a new song on your iPod you can ditch the headphones and do it on a proper set of speakers.


From: Lifehacker

Turn your Iphone into a Macro Camera!

Forget about buying cheap, tacky plastic add-ons to mod the iPhone's camera. Flickr-er Daniel Forsythe instead used his knowledge of cellphone camera lenses to make this quick-and-dirty manual focus hack for the iPhone.

It's simple. All you have to do is crack open the glue surrounding the lens. The lenses used on both the 3G and the original iPhone can be turned to focus them -- usually the focus is set to infinity at the factory (the small sensor size takes care of depth-of-field) but you can change it to a close-focussing macro lens. As Daniel points out, this makes the camera much more useful for shots of barcodes or other note-taking.

Some iPhone disassembly is required, and Daniel has full instructions on his site. The whole thing is reversible, though, so if you're happy about voiding your waranty, things shouldn't go too badly wrong.

Find out how here.


How will it perform? Check it out here:

Can you hack the Iphone? How about for $10,000?

The people at Pwn2Own would like to pay you $10,000 to hack the Iphone.

Read the Article here:

The third installment of the Pwn2Own competition, a contest pitting hackers against popular gadgets and operating systems, takes aim at Apple's iPhone and four other smartphones. The contest will dole out $10,000 to anyone able to hack into the devices at the CanSecWest security convention in Vancouver, Canada from March 18-20.

Contestants, armed with phones running the Android, Symbian, and Windows Mobile operating systems, as well as a BlackBerry and an iPhone, will have to exploit "general actions a normal user would take while using the device," according to the rules of the sponsor, TippingPoint.

The three day competition will also include a Web browser division, focusing on a Sony VAIO running Windows 7 and installed with Internet Explorer 8, Firefox and Google Chrome, and a MacBook running OS X with Safari and Firefox. Contestants won't have physical access to their targets and will be given limited applications to work with on the first day. That will gradually expand over the next two days, and any successful bug nets the hacker $5,000.

Notable winners from last year include Charlie Miller, who felled the brand new MacBook Air two minutes into day two, and Shane Macauley and Derek Calloway of Security Objectives, aided by Alexander Sotirov, who exploited a flaw in Adobe flash to take down the Windows Vista operating system on the final day. [From: The Register]

From : Switched.com

What can the Iphone Do?

Check out Apple's iphone website for details on just what the Iphone can do.

Apples Releases Itunes 8.1

Apple releases iTunes 8.1 update
New version adds Genius for video, iTunes DJ with voting, new Shuffle support

by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld.com

Apple updated its iTunes music jukebox and device-management software to version 8.1 on Wednesday, adding support for the new line of iPod shuffles released earlier in the day, and adding several other new features, most notably adding Genius Sidebar support for movies and television shows.
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Recommendations by Loomia

Apple first introduced Genius in September 2008 as a way for users to create playlists and find new music based on what they are already listening to. Now that functionality is available for movies and TV shows as well, according to Apple. The Genius Sidebar will find relevant videos much the same way it finds music. When you click on a movie, iTunes will recommend new content that you may like from the iTunes Store. (We were unable to verify this feature for ourselves, though it's possible this feature will be enabled via a server-based Genius update at a later time.)

In iTunes 8.1, the Party Shuffle feature introduced in April 2004 has been rechristened iTunes DJ. While this feature has been around for some time, Apple added some new functionality specifically designed for iPod touch and iPhone users.

Which Ipod is the fastest? (www.ipodhacks.com)

According to Touch Arcade the Ipod Touch 2G is the fastest.

Read the article below for more details:

Ever seem like an App Store game runs faster (or slower) on your friend's iPhone or iPod touch as compared to your own? We have seen mention of this phenomenon and it always puzzled us. Internally, as far as processor core and graphics chipset, it's all the same...right?

As it turns out, while all devices utilize basically the same hardware, there are differences that have a visible impact on games and apps that push the hardware between the various models of the iPhone and iPod touch.

Touch Arcade recently posted details of a dialog with veteran mobile developer Handheld Games Corp that reveals the second-generation iPod touch to have a distinct gaming advantage over the iPhone or previous iPod touch unit. According to CEO Thomas Fessler, the 2G iPod touch uses a v4.0 version of the ARM1176 core running at 532MHz while all other members of the iPhone / iPod touch family utilize a v1.0 unit running at 412MHz. This performance difference has a clear impact on iPhone developers and the techniques they must apply to games that push the hardware.

Our first step to increase fps performance was to introduce hardware dependent levels of detail. Where we can easily display two 1500 polygon tennis players with 32 bones each on the iPod touch 2G and maintain fast and fluid game play, the original iPod touch just chokes, and in some instances so do the iPhones. To speed up the touch, we reduced the players to 800 polygons in farther away moments of gameplay, and are now using 1000 polygon models for close ups, bringing the original iPod touch game play performance level close to that of the iPhone 3G. We’ve taken this approach across the board with great results.

Fessler indicates that the 2G iPod touch is the fastest member of the family "by far," and that the overall breakdown in performance (from fastest to slowest) is as follows.

1. iPod touch 2nd Generation
2. iPhone 3G
3. iPhone (original)
4. iPod Touch 1st Generation

Fessler suspects that the GPU of the 2G iPod touch may also be tweaked, but there's no solid evidence of that at the moment. Fessler recommends that those interested in iPhone platform gaming avoid buying a used first-generation iPod touch.

"Must have" Ipod games via http://www.ipodhacks.com/

As has been the case for the past six holidays, on Christmas morning many will find an iPod under the Christmas tree. Nowadays the number is in the millions. Whether you've just torn open a shuffle, a nano, a classic, or a touch: welcome!



Aurora Feint: The Beginning
In case you're unaware, there's a world of accessories out there to help personalize your iPod and make it your own. What's more, there's a solid selection of games available for the click wheel iPods [iTunes link]. But that's only a shadow of the myriad apps and games available for the iPod touch and iPhone in the iTunes App Store [iTunes link]--over 10,000 at the moment.

iPhone and iPod touch game news and review site Touch Arcade has just posted a roundup of 12 favorite "must have" games for the iPod touch.

Since a single "best" list is such a hard list to come up with due to individual tastes, we've instead compiled a list of games that we consider to an excellent cross section of iPhone gaming and could be seen as "required reading" for iPhone and iPod Touch gamers

The list includes:


* Aurora Feint: The Beginning (Free) - Amongst the first games in the App Store, this may have been an eye opener for many iPhone gamers. The game offers a polished match-3 (Bejeweled-like) puzzler in the setting of a role playing game. Progressive accomplishments in the puzzle portion of the game provides you with resources to level up and gain increasing skills.
* Dropship ($0.99) - We confidently declared this to be the best shooter in the App Store. Excellent and innovative controls with well balanced gameplay made this one of our most enjoyed games. This is how an iPhone game should play and at $0.99, it’s a no brainer.
* Fieldrunners ($4.99) - Tower Defense. Heard of it? If you haven’t, this is the game for you. Even if you have, this is probably the game for you. Named one of Time Magazine's Top 10 video games of the year, we at Touch Arcade feel the title is well deserved. This game has significant cross-over appeal that has introduced countless iPhone users to the genre of Tower Defense (TD). Despite the proliferation of TD games in the App Store, many still consider this one the best.
* Rolando ($9.99) - Rolando was one of the most anticipated iPhone games of the year. Even though Ngmoco is a sponsor of this site, I still feel confident that I can unbiasedly say that the game delivered on much of the hype. The game offers an iPhone-specific platformer that incorporates the iPhone’s touch screen and accelerometer into a wonderfully produced game.

See Touch Arcade's full article for more details and...happy iPod gaming!

From http://www.ipodhacks.com/

Must have Ipod games via Ipodhacks.com

From: ipodhacks.com

As has been the case for the past six holidays, on Christmas morning many will find an iPod under the Christmas tree. Nowadays the number is in the millions. Whether you've just torn open a shuffle, a nano, a classic, or a touch: welcome!

Aurora Feint: The Beginning
In case you're unaware, there's a world of accessories out there to help personalize your iPod and make it your own. What's more, there's a solid selection of games available for the click wheel iPods [iTunes link]. But that's only a shadow of the myriad apps and games available for the iPod touch and iPhone in the iTunes App Store [iTunes link]--over 10,000 at the moment.

iPhone and iPod touch game news and review site Touch Arcade has just posted a roundup of 12 favorite "must have" games for the iPod touch.

Since a single "best" list is such a hard list to come up with due to individual tastes, we've instead compiled a list of games that we consider to an excellent cross section of iPhone gaming and could be seen as "required reading" for iPhone and iPod Touch gamers

The list includes:

* Aurora Feint: The Beginning (Free) - Amongst the first games in the App Store, this may have been an eye opener for many iPhone gamers. The game offers a polished match-3 (Bejeweled-like) puzzler in the setting of a role playing game. Progressive accomplishments in the puzzle portion of the game provides you with resources to level up and gain increasing skills.
* Dropship ($0.99) - We confidently declared this to be the best shooter in the App Store. Excellent and innovative controls with well balanced gameplay made this one of our most enjoyed games. This is how an iPhone game should play and at $0.99, it’s a no brainer.
* Fieldrunners ($4.99) - Tower Defense. Heard of it? If you haven’t, this is the game for you. Even if you have, this is probably the game for you. Named one of Time Magazine's Top 10 video games of the year, we at Touch Arcade feel the title is well deserved. This game has significant cross-over appeal that has introduced countless iPhone users to the genre of Tower Defense (TD). Despite the proliferation of TD games in the App Store, many still consider this one the best.
* Rolando ($9.99) - Rolando was one of the most anticipated iPhone games of the year. Even though Ngmoco is a sponsor of this site, I still feel confident that I can unbiasedly say that the game delivered on much of the hype. The game offers an iPhone-specific platformer that incorporates the iPhone’s touch screen and accelerometer into a wonderfully produced game.

See Touch Arcade's full article for more details and...happy iPod gaming!


Also check out apprater.com for up to date iphone/ipod app ratings.

Free itunes gift card! (Not another survey either)

Apparently someone found a way to get trick itunes into giving a free gift card. I haven't heard of this until tonight. Check it out here:

Alternative Installer : Cydia Installer

Want to try something new with your ipod? Try installing cydia, an alternative installer. I haven't personally tried it yet, but with all the app's coming out that are independent (not on itunes) it's about time for me to start messing with my ipod again. It's rather simple to install. It seems to be worth a shot for everyone who enjoy's moding their ipod's.

Video here:



View more information here.

More info @ hackthatphone.com

Break you ipod? Need replacement parts?

Check out Ipod Corrects to find parts needed to fix your ipod. Unfortunately if you have a Ipod Touch/Iphone you are out of luck when it comes to replacement parts. If you want those, and think you have the technical experience to figure them out, i'd suggest buying a bricked ipod/iphone on ebay.

View the following video's to see the process in repairing your iphone, ipod video, and other ipod's.

Replacing the LCD Screen in 5th Generation Ipod Video:



Replacing LCD Screen in Ipod Nano 1g:



Replacing LCD screen in Iphone:



Replacing Battery Iphone:

Need to convert video's to your IPOD? Try Videora.

Having problems converting videos to put on your IPOD/Iphone? I recently had problems converting mpeg's to my ipod. Eventually I realized that the same program I used to convert any other type of video was the same converter that could convert mpeg's for me. (also converts avi, divx, xvid, flv, x264, vob, DVD's, YouTube, etc.) That program was Videora. You can download it here.

How to use Videora:

Lost your tunes?

Need to download itunes? Click here to direct you to apple to download a the newest version of itunes.

Hacking the Iphone/Ipod Touch with ZiPhone

If you are the proud owner of an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you know by now that you are subject to a lot of limitations such as being restricted to the AT & T Network. In addition, you will be unable to install or run any third party applications on your device.

With all these restrictions, it’s no wonder that most people who own an iPhone are frustrated and are always on the lookout for ways to run applications on their devices. After all, you would not want to pay so much money for something that has hardly any functions. However, it’s understandable to also be reluctant. These devices are expensive and if something goes wrong, it’s a lot of money down the drain.

Adam from Lifehacker has found a solution to your problems. He uses a software called ZiPhone. ZiPhone is free, open source application that works on both Windows and the Mac. This software basically hacks or jailbreaks the firmware code on your device so that all the restrictions are removed and you can use your device to its full potential. What ZiPhone does is put your phone into recovery mode while it hacks the firmware. The entire process is accomplished in under one minute.

All you have to do is download and run the application. Select the device (iPhone or iPod Touch), choose the jailbreak option and you are good to go. I haven’t tried this out for myself because I do not own either device but a fair number of people have used ZiPhone with excellent results. The only precaution is that if you applied a jailbreak to your iPhone previously, make sure to restore it to the latest firmware (1.1.4) before you use ZiPhone.

All in all, I’m curious. How many of you have hacked your devices previously because you were unhappy with the restrictions. Do you know of any other ways to jailbreak your iPhone?

Via (Lifehacker)

For more info hacking the firmware for the Iphone check out hacktheiphone.com

So easy a caveman can do it (In 2 Minutes)... right?