All you have to do is download this great app called Pod to Mac.  It is so easy to use I could probably just stop now, but I will give some quick instructions.

Literally all you have to do is open the application and plug in your iPod or iPhone and it will automatically display all the data on your device so that you can search through and decide what media you would like to transfer to your computer.  The great thing is that it not only transfers music, but can also transfer video and pictures (coming soon) from your iPod or iPhone to your computer.  Just select the files you want to transfer and click ‘Transfer Files”.  It is really that easy.  After you transfer your files, go into your iTunes Music folder and you will see all your files automatically organized nicely and ready to be played in iTunes!

Another great thing is that you don’t have to put your device in ‘Manually manage music and videos’ so you don’t have to worry about messing with any settings at all (this is iPhone and iTouch only I believe, I think for older iPods you do have to put it in ‘manual’ mode).  This allows you to continue to automatically sync your device when you plug it in which I really like.

The only thing you do have to do is make sure that in iTunes, under Preferences > Advanced, both ‘Keepy iTunes music folder organized” and “Copy files to iTunes folder” are checked.  I believe those are checked by default so you should be good to go.

No other program I have tried works as well as Pod to Mac.  I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a quick and easy solution to transferring music from your iPhone or iPod to your computer.

I finally tested something last night that I have been meaning to do for awhile now, *Airfoil.

I have never understood why Apple unlinked Front Row playback from iTunes, thus disabling the ability to play music in Front Row through your Airport Express with airTunes.  With the updated Front Row app in Leopard, this was no longer possible. Luckily, a great little application called Airfoil is here to save the day allowing you to play music in Front Row through your airTunes wireless speakers!

Airfoil allows you to send virtually any audio playing on your computer to your Airport Express. You can even send audio to multiple outputs throughout your house if you have more than one Airport Express set up. You can get video support with the included Airfoil Video Player which incorporates audio and video with AppleTV (I have not tested the video portion).

In a nutshell, you can do everything you could possibly want: send audio from iTunes, Front Row, Pandora, last.fm, or any other possible internet radio site to your Airport Express and listen to the music on your sound system wirelessly! You are no longer limited to just iTunes.

One of the great things about playing music through iTunes though, is using the remote app on your iPhone to control playback. You lose that functionality when playing music through Front Row. But alas, another great iPhone app called **Rowmote (you will also need the Rowmote Helper app for your desktop) allows you to not only control iTunes from your phone, but also…

• Front Row
• Boxee
• DVD Player
• Finder
• iPhoto
• Keynote
• Powerpoint
• Quicktime

…essentially turning your iPhone in to the ultimate universal remote!

Here is my set up to get everything working just how I would want:

• Open Airfoil. You will see a list of all the available airTunes speakers within range and a dropdown at the very bottom where you can select an application to play audio through. Select the application you would like use, in this case Front Row for me, and Airfoil will create a connection between Front Row and your Airport Express.
• Click on the speaker icon next to the airTunes speaker system you would like to use.
• Open Front Row and start playing music, it will be playing through your speakers hooked up to your Airport Express.
• Open up Rowmote on your iPhone (don’t forget to have the RowmoteHelper  desktop app running on your Mac) and select Front Row in Rowmote from the application options.
• Your iPhone is now controlling playback in Front Row, allowing you to pause, play, skip tracks, etc., all from your phone! (The only complaint about Rowmote is that it doesn’t provide the current track info on your phone like the Remote app does).

This has been working out great for me, anyone have any other clever solutions to the Front Row/iTunes debacle?

_{*It does cost $25 for full functionality, but hey, if you can create something like this, you deserve monetary reward.
**The UI in Rowmote is lacking for sure, but I suppose it’s the functionality that really matters. It also costs $0.99 but it is definitely worth it.}