Well, at the last minute I discovered I was wrong about iPod Access being the only cross platform solution we're reviewing. Our next program, [iPodRip][4] from [The Little App Factory][5], is also available in both Mac and Windows flavors. Not only that, but the Mac version is a universal binary. Our review applies to the Mac version only. IPodRip is shareware and costs $14.95. The unlicensed version is not crippled, but will expire after 10 uses, which means if you just need to recover from a hard drive failure or similar one-time problem, iPodRip can do it for free. IPodRip features, drag-and-drop support for moving songs off your iPod directly into iTunes, as well as one-click importing to restore everything. Alternately you can select individual songs and import them one at a time or in groups. IPodRip also has a very nice feature that allow you to restore all your playlists with one-click. IPodRip also allows for something it terms "smart sync" which allows you to copy songs based on various criteria (pretty much like "smart playlists" in iTunes). IPodRip also features a number of nice extras not found elsewhere, such as a database check for your iPod DB, an option to export your library information to HTML or XML formats, and sync metadata between your iPod and iTunes. ####The Lowdown **Good** * Can sync iTunes to iPod with one click * Available for Windows and Mac * Excellant additional features **Bad** * Not free (though it can be used 10 times with no limitations) Previously reviewed: [Senuti][1] (Mac only)
[Podworks][2] (Mac only)
[IPod Access][3] (Mac & Windows)
[1]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2006/11/getting_songs_o.html "Monkey Bites on Senuti" [2]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2006/11/getting_songs_o_1.html "Monkey Bites on PodWorks" [3]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2006/11/getting_songs_o_2.html "Monkey Bites on iPod Access" [4]: http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=iPodRip "iPodRip" [5]: http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/software/index.php "The Little App Factory"