PodWorks is an application that compensates for the iPod's only downside: Apple only allows you to copy songs to your iPod. If you have two Macs and want to use your iPod to transfer music between them, or you only store your MP3s on your iPod and need to copy them back onto your hard drive after a disk failure, you are out of luck!

This is where PodWorks comes in: it allows you to copy songs from any Mac iPod to any Mac running OS X (10.2).

Features

• Superior performance: Other standalone iPod song transfer utilities work by reading ID3 data out of every song on the iPod--a slow process. PodWorks, by contrast, is capable of reading directly from the iPod's internal database, resulting in nearly instantaneous display of all metadata (even with large song libraries).
• More metadata: Since PodWorks can read from the iPod's internal database, it can also display and sort by song "metadata" not available through ID3 (including "Date Added" and "Play Count").
• iTunes-like sorting and searching: PodWorks is designed so that its data columns sort intelligently, the same way they do in iTunes. For example, the "Artist" column sorts first by artist, then by album, then by disc number, then by track number. Additionally, it features an iTunes-style "type-ahead" search to enable quick access to specific songs.
• Playlists: PodWorks is the only standalone iPod song transfer utility capable of displaying the iPod's playlists. Entire playlists can be copied to your computer with a single drag (registered version only).
• Strong organizational capabilities: Copying large numbers of files can get messy, so PodWorks can sort MP3 files into directories and change their filenames according to your preferences.
• Portability: PodWorks can be placed on your iPod for convenient access away from your home computer. It will work when run off the iPod, and will remember its registration information even when connected to a previously unknown machine.

New in v2.9.3

• Rewrote the "Send to iTunes" AppleScript for improved reliability.
• Added a check to make sure iTunes is responsive before trying a transfer.
• Added a Transfer Errors window to collect and display AppleScript errors that happen during a transfer (instead of interrupting the transfer).
• Improved the accuracy and performance of the duplicate prevention and "Show Only Songs Not in iTunes" feature.
• Added additional preferences for iTunes transfers.
• Added a "metadata only" transfer mode.
• Added "Last Played Date" to the set of metadata PodWorks can transfer.
• Made song sort order match iTunes more closely.
• Improved low level file copy code.