I haven't seen Podmaxx for myself yet, but it looks like it provides a great span of features formerly available only by using separate software packages. The feature list includes:

• Moves songs from iPod to PC (not just PC to iPod)
• Backs up data
• Syncs e-mail and contacts
• Allows viewing news, weather, movies

It is not clear from their website whether it attempts to duplicate the features of iTunes. For example, it doesn't say whether you can copy music from the PC to the iPod (a basic function of iTunes), and while it says you can use it to manage podcasts (which iTunes also does), this may be a result of the fact that Podmaxx came out before iTunes 4.9, which brought podcast management to iTunes.

The system requirements do not list 5th generation (video) iPods, so evidently it doesn't include video features yet. Nonetheless, having one program that does what this does is nice. Personally, I'd like Apple to build into iTunes an advanced feature set that allows backup and RSS-to-iPod syncing. Adding those features would eliminate the need for programs like Podmaxx altogether.

(The one missing feature which you'll probably never see in iTunes is iPod-to-PC copying, which would make it easier to steal music, which is not what the iPod is about. Though many users still have a legitimate need for this function, they won't get it from iTunes. FreeiPodGuy's opinion is that this shouldn't be necessary because you should have a copy of all your music in your PC for backup purposes. If you don't have the hard drive space, what you really need is a bigger hard drive.)  

Here's another cool way to get a free iPod: iPodMyBaby, who make shirts and onesies that turn your baby into an iPod lookalike, are sponsoring a "cutest" baby contest in which you can win a trio of new iPods. Fun!  

So I'm riding the bus, listening to my 8-week old iPod which was transformed into a relic by the release of the 5th generation iPod, and I see another rider with a shiny new iPod. So I beat him over the head with my umbrella, grab the iPod and dash out the door between stops. Oh wait... sorry, I was fantasizing again.

But I did tap the guy on the shoulder and ask him to see a video clip. King Kong never looked so good. I almost got hemorrhoids again.  

Now, here's a cool product that won't last long, at least under the name iPod Media Studio.

This handy little Windows app will take any video file from any source (including commercial DVDs), and rip them to your iPod. Basically it does what iTunes 6 should have done but didn't. This little baby will run you $32.95. Of course there are free ways to do it, but they can be a bit cumbersome.

I haven't used it, but it certainly is fulfilling a need. Just don't expect it to keep its name for long. Apple has become quite the trademark Nazi lately, so Makayama Interactive should expect their product to get neutered within about a week. I hope for their sake they have a great non-iPod name picked out.

Oh, and if I don't see you again today, in honor of Halloween, here's FreeiPodGuy's scary self-portrait: