chuma.org

I uninstalled iTunes. I feel much better now. And I found two indispensible pieces of software for my iPod that actually work properly, and the way I expect the iPod to work:

• Anapod Explorer – integrates any iPod directly into Windows like any other mobile device – that is, it appears as a device under My Computer, just like my scanner does. Lets you easily browse what’s on the iPod, supports all the features of the 5th gen: videos, playlists, album art, contacts, calendars and music of course. Hell, it even lets you query the iPod using SQL! If this supported subscribing to calendars it would make my life complete.
• Free iPod Video Converter – after finding all kinds of other crappy MP4 conversion software, I saw this mentioned on afterdawn.com. It really is this simple: it’s free, and it converts anything. I only wish that it handled corrupt video source a bit better. I converted about 200 of my music videos and it choked on a few during conversion even though it thought they were OK when I added them to the batch. Still, excellent results and it’s about a million times faster than the QuickTime MP4 encoder.