While I am an iTunes fan, there are many people out there who not to use it for various reasons, instead option for options such as EphPod or others. Back in the days, I used to be a big Winamp fan and one of the reasons I stopped using it was because it didn’t support iPod synching. Many people still use it, so if you’re one of them and want to know to use it and a little plugin called ML_iPod to sync your iPod and be forever free of iTunes, read on.

What you will need:

1. An iPod
2. A Windows PC
3. Winamp 5 - Free, Windows
4. ML_iPod - Free, open-source, Windows

Getting set up

1. If you haven’t done so already, install Winamp. When done, install ML_iPod.
2. Plug your iPod in. If you have iTunes set to automatically update, stop it!
3. Run Winamp. Go to Options, then Preferences.
4. On the left-hand column, under General Preferences, click on iPod support. You can now set various options for your iPod. Play around with it and do what you want, but the default options should be just fine.
5. Now back in Winamp, open the Media Library (by pressing the button labeled ML for example). On the left-hand side there will be a section called Devices which probably has your CD/DVD drives. If your iPod is plugged in, it should show up here, too!

How do you add music?
Adding music is simple. You can simply drag songs from your media library onto the iPod section under Devices. Additionally, you could right click a song, click on Send to and select iPod.

Conclusion
ML_iPod is a great little plugin and it supports most features which iTunes users take for granted. While earlier versions of the plugin did not support the iPod Shuffle, the newer version does. You can even rename your iPod if you so wish, something which (AFAIK) iTunes does not allow. Combining Winamp with ML_iPod should satisfy most users in getting rid of iTunes. Additionally, this is a good way to sync your iPod if you’re still using Windows 98/ME and can’t install iTunes.

As always, we are not liable for any damages which may occur as a result of any of our tips, but from our tests, this does seem to be safe.

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