Windows only: Pod to PC can grab the music and movies off nearly any Windows-formatted iPod for transferring to your PC, and avoids duplicates while doing so.
Install and fire up the software, and if your iPod is connected by a USB transfer cable, Pod to PC should find it and offer up basic stats:
Most notable is that, along with an iTunes-like read on space use, iPod name, and the like, Pod to PC shows how many of the tracks on a device are already loaded into iTunes on your computer. So that “Automatic Transfer” button smooshed into the lower-right corner (Pod to PC has a pretty rough graphical interface, in case you couldn’t tell) does exactly that, grabbing uncopied tracks and placing them. Or you can tackle a transfer manually:
Advanced visual cues show you what’s in your library already, what’s protected or free, and what type of media each file is. Select the files you want, or use the upper-right search bar to narrow-as-you-type search. When you’re done selecting, head to the File menu, hit “Initiate transfer,” and you’ll get a pop-up window giving you the report. Pod to PC can’t place the files in iTunes itself, but it does create an “Import File,” a simple text document, that iTunes can read to bring in multiple files at once.
The caveats: Pod to PC is not the most stable software we’ve tested—the inteface is a smooshy thing, and crashes and freeze-ups, especially when attempting to preview a file, aren’t exactly rare. But it does work with an iPod touch or iPhone just as well as a first-generation white iPod, and does a nice job of sorting what you do and don’t have already. For a full guide to reliable transfer software, check out our guide to copying music from your iPhone or iPod to your computer for free.
Pod to PC is a free download for Windows systems only.
Google has just release a new app called Google Sync, a tool that syncs your 
Kamal Meattle used three just three indoor plant species to increase oxygen, filter air, and boost general health at a a New Delhi business park. You can use them, too, in any indoor environment.
The Consumerist blog lets the 
Over the last few years we’ve had the privilege of releasing exclusive applications, scripts, and extensions that have hopefully boosted your productivity. We’ve gathered up your favorites here.
Texter is a robust text replacement tool. At its most basic Texter allows you to assign abbreviations for longer snippets of text you normally use. You can easily set up Texter to turn 
If the outpouring of votes for it during our 
Belvedere is an automated file-management tool. Using Belvedere, you can assign sets of rules to monitored folders for handling the files found there. You can assign rules to move, copy, delete, rename, or even open files based on their name, extension, size, and creation date and more. If you find yourself doing repetitive things on your computer that don’t really require your input beyond being the one steering the mouse, it might be time to turn over the house keeping to Belvedere. Everything from cleaning out temporary directories and keeping your download folder from bloating up to organizing your incoming files by type can be accomplished with a few simple rules that will free up a big chunk of your time. Automation is your friend!
Like Better GReader, Better Gmail 2 takes an already awesome service and adds even more features to it. Supercharge your Gmail experience with the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension and add these handy features: forced encryption (https), modified keyboard macros, inbox count beside favicon, better integration of Google Calendar and Reader with the Gmail interface, attachment icons that represent the actual file type, assistant for easy filter creation, folder style hierarchy on the sidebar, and more. Like all of our “Better XYZ” extensions the large list of features can be toggled on and off on a feature by feature basis so you get only the tweaks you need.
Better YouTube is a Firefox extension that combines several great YouTube Greasemonkey scripts into one package. With Better YouTube you can enlarge videos, hide user comments, declutter the YouTube viewing page, disable autoplay, and quickly download video itself. Add it to your installation of Firefox to take control of your viewing at the mega-popular video sharing site.
Earlier this month we showed you Gmail’s new 
You’ve got a mind-blowing picture, surround sound, and streaming content set up, but it wasn’t cheap. Heal your wallet with ten upgrades, fixes, and setup tips that take your system to 11 on the cheap.
Not everybody wants their CD or DVD collection to be a proud, visible part of their living room. And a lot of people have had old-school, giant-box speakers shoved in their garages, or offered up constantly by parents, aunts, uncles, or anyone else with a formerly hi-fi system. One Instructables user put some old gear to good use by converting it to 
Once you start buying 
This is definitely the cheapest hardware hack we whole-heartedly recommend. We know the smell of stretched plastic wrap and the thrill of getting your new gear set up, but the safety anchors that come with most every TV stand are definitely worth revisiting, or buying if you’ve already tossed them. Even if there are no tykes in the house, you never know who’s coming to visit, or which dark and tired night sends your screen crashing to its doom. Hit up the Wired How-To Wiki for more 
You’ve probably seen more rabbit ears in electronics stores recently than since the Cosby Show was still airing (new episodes, at least). That’s because stores, and manufacturers, are anticipating a consumer scramble for antennas to pick up the the soon-to-be-all-digital signals. Before you join the herds, find the best antenna type for getting the strongest reception at your home with 
You paid for those deep blacks, the contrast with real pop, and all those hundreds of vertical and horizontal pixels, but you might not be seeing them. You could pay a professional (or, uh, the Geek Squad) to swing by and stare at your set, but you may get better results by following 
Controlling all the music playing across your house isn’t reserved for people living in the near-futuristic movies or those willing to shell out a grand or more for the 
Anyone reading Lifehacker for a while would know we’re huge fans of the 
You want everyone in your viewing room to be able to see and hear the show, but you don’t want feet near heads, direct window glare, covered heating vents—sometimes, in other words, you need a plan. You could take one of our clever reader’s tips and 
All it takes is a sub-$100 
Most of us get our internet from a cable or DSL connection, and have to put our wireless routers wherever that pipeline happens to be hooked up. But what if you’ve got devices that want (or benefit from) a hard cable connection—Apple TVs, media center PCs, TiVos, certain Xbox models, and the like? Skip buying the proprietary, huge-margin Wi-Fi adaptors and 
Probably the most significant feature you can get out of Labs, Offline Gmail takes advantage of Google Gears to turn Gmail into an offline email client. You can 
Got a widescreen monitor and a lot of filters and labels you want to keep an eye on? When enabled, Multiple Inboxes displays up to eight different searches or labels next to your inbox for a king-sized dashboard of your email activity. (
Google has taken a lot of guff for not creating a to-do list app to round out their productivity suite of apps. Tasks may not be a full-fledged app (yet), but it’s a great start. You can even turn an email into a task with a simple Shift+t keyboard shortcut. Once set up, you can 
Gmail has all kinds of 
Quick Links adds a new sidebar to Gmail just below your labels. When enabled, Quick Links can be used to bookmark anything in Gmail, from a common search to a specific email. It’s an incredible way to set up quick access to common searches without setting up a filter and label.
By default, Gmail ships with one yellow star to help you better keep track of and call out important emails. With Superstars enabled, you’ve got a whopping 12 different icons to choose from. You can even 
Do a lot of repetitive typing, do you? With Canned Responses, you can set up canned replies so you can quickly and easily fire off that same old reply without succumbing to the pains of RSI. Your hands will thank you. (If you’re really serious about canned responses, check out 
Love keyboard shortcuts but never quite got the hang of the layout of Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts? With Custom Keyboard Shortcuts enabled, you can customize any of Gmail’s default shortcuts to your liking. Handy!
Save yourself the embarrassment of the second whoops-I-forgot! email with the Forgotten Attachment Detector. It scans your email to determine whether or not you had meant to attach a file and alerts you if an attachment is missing.
The Pictures in Chat feature does exactly what it sounds like: adds user icons to your Gmail Chat window. This one won’t boost your productivity all that much, but it’s a nice little tweak.
The crafty skinners at Globex Designs have officially released Google Redesigned 0.2, a 
