floola

Whilst iTunes is the dominant audio program for those with iPods, it can be rather limiting when it comes to managing your device. As a result, some users are turning towards a free iTunes alternative called Floola. Although it lacks a link to the iTunes store, most users find it not only works faster between your PC or Mac but offers much greater freedoms as far as managing your iPod goes.

All you need to do before using Floola is configure your iPod for use as an external hardrive. You can find out how to do this on the Apple website. You can either install Floola on your desktop or run it directly from your iPod. You should then be able to copy files to and from your iPod but if you’re experiencing any problems, Floola even features an bug fixing tool. It also supports podcasts so you won't miss out on your favourite broadcasts. The fact that it can be installed on your iPod also means that if you’re constantly using it between two computers, it definitely makes life a lot easier.

Be warned however that this program does have a tendency to hog your resources and on older machines, it may well slow down your system considerably outweighing any transfer speed benefits it may offer.

If you’re still not convinced, check out this screencast to learn more about how Floola works.

Windows: If your singing talent is limited to private shower gigs with no musical training, Songsmith is for you. This great app, currently a Microsoft research project, lets you create songs in just a few steps: pick up a preset style and a tempo, think about some words and get ready to sing. The program will fit the tune arounf your voice and produce a surprisingly good result. Once done, you can save the song as WMA, WAV or MIDI.

iPhone: If you're a fan of NFL then Finger Football is one iPhone game you can't afford to miss. This simple gridiron game is pretty far-removed from the real thing, but that doesn't stop it being immensely addictive. The object of Finger Football is to try and score a touchdown by flicking the ball so it stops on the edge of the goal line.

Mac: Need a better way to manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone? Floola can be run directly from either and yet requires no installation and manages your files in a smarter way. It supports almost all features offered by iPods including photos, artwork, podcasts and smart playlists and automatically converts any incompatible audio or video file.

Windows: Here again to ruin the lives of many an armchair soccer fan is Football Manager 2009. The latest release of the oh-so addictive football management simulation is the most in-depth ever. As well as updating the huge player and team database, the latest version adds a new 3D game view, improved transfer system, heightened media management features, and much more.

Pocket PC: Lost in the Pyramid recaptures the magic of those classics in the form of an imaginative quest in which you star as Indiana Bones, a famous archeologist who has a dream one night about a pyramid. After waking up, you must go to consult a psychic who reveals where to start your mission, then it's off into the wild unknown to explore the mythical building of your dreams.

Mac: Need a smarter way to manage your iPod? Floola is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes). It can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. Floola supports all most common used features including podcasts!

Windows: If you're tired of listening to music and would like to have a more active role, try mixing it! With Zulu DJ you can take your first steps into the world of music mixers thanks to its ease of use, variety of tools and special effects. The program supports many audio formats and lets you mix songs just by dragging and dropping them onto its interface.

Mac: You might want to have an alternative to iTunes when it comes to managing media on your iPod. Floola lets you see all music, videos, photos and other files stored on your iPod, handle your playlists, and even copy songs to and from most iPod models. It also offers support to Last.fm and podcasts. A must for music fans with iPods.

Pocket PC: We all know how good Google Maps is for finding your way from A to B, but did you know you can also hook up the powerful mapping service with your GPS receiver? Google Navigator provides a quick and easy way of obtaining map and location information using your GPS-enabled Pocket PC.

Since the release of the original iPod back in October 2001 the line of portable devices from Apple has extended to the minute iShuffle, the slim Nano and recently the classy iPod Touch. iPods have really changed the world of portable music players and turned them into full fledged multimedia devices. Nowadays you can enjoy your music on the go as much as you can watch movies and video clips or all your recent photos.

Now the best way to upload content onto your iPod is via good ol' iTunes. However you shouldn't just stick to Apple's default application. There are a number of excellent third party programs out there that will help you do much more with your iPod, whether converting videos, syncing your mail or managing your media library. We've decided to list up ten of the most useful iPod applications for Mac. If you're a PC user, make sure to check out our lists of top 5 iPod video converters and top 10 iPod apps.

• iSquint - Can optimize any video to play seamlessly on your iPod's smaller screen.
• iPDA - Use your iPod just like a PDA, syncing emails, calendars, contacts and even RSS feeds from your Mac.
• MoviePod - Just drag and drop to convert any video to the iPod format.
• Floola - A good alternative to iTunes to manage all the content in your iPod.
• DVD2Pod - An easy way of ripping any DVD to play on your iPod.
• iPod Video Converter - Can quickly convert any audio or video file to the iPod format. Features a good set of default settings.
• Life2Go - Import documents, RSS feeds and song lyrics to your iPod.
• ReelBean - A beautiful interface and a handy tool to convert any video format to the iPod friendly MPEG4.
• Senuti - Search, browse and transfer all your music from your iPod to your iTunes library from a simple interface.
• Podner - Encode any movie to the iPod friendly MPEG4 format, adjusting the quality and then syncing it to your iPod.
• YamiPod - A great way to transfer music from your iPod to iTunes. Can even show extended info about your music and easily remove duplicates.

I don't know about you, but I think there are way too many ridiculous brand and product names in today's tech world. I've just taken this quiz that illustrates the similarity between nonsensical Web 2.0 names and some the equally ridiculous pharmaceutical brands out there. Testing software all the time, I regularly come across applications that are so awfully-named you'd think they'd be dreamed up by a drunk child.

For me, the key to a good product name is clarity and memorability. This is one of the reasons why brands such as iTunes, Windows Media Player and Photoshop have succeeded. A program name must go some way to giving a clue about what the program does. Many don't though, and suffer for that as a result. Here are some of the biggest culprits, but feel free to join my campaign against badly-named software and suggest your own.

• The GIMP - As far as I know the only graphics app named after a sex slave
• Monkey's Audio - I'm sure a chimp must've dreamed up this stupid name
• MobyDock - An awful pun for this desktop utility
• Deckadance - Another highly unoriginal play-on-words
• Floppy Office - Unsurprisingly, this limply-titled USB app flopped
• OphCrack - I think the developer of this app was on crack at the time
• Bloodshed Dev - Good name for a war game. Bad name for a C++ compiler
• Floola - Sounds like something a baby would gurgle after a heavy meal
• Tvkoo vivi-player - More nonsensical rubbish that tells me nothing
• Zattoo - What is it with software authors and their love of 'oo's?