If you are a Windows user tired of having to use iTunes to move tracks to your iPod shuffle, try out this small piece of software. It allows you to use your iPod shuffle like a regular memory stick. You can simply copy your tracks to the iPod shuffle as-is using Windows Explorer (or any other file manager). You may copy files from any computer. Simply run this little utility, which will update the internal database of the iPod shuffle to allow playing the tracks placed on it.

This program is something that I have been using myselft since 2005 when I bought my first iPod shuffle. Although there is already a similar program called iPod shuffle Database Builder, I decided to make my software publicly available after receiving some requests to do so. People seem to be interested in the graphical user interface, which is not available in the iPod shuffle Database Builder.

• No iTunes required, not even for initializing the iPod shuffle
• Update the iPod database on any Windows machine that supports Unicode
• Full Unicode support, no manual file renaming necessary
• Full directory support, simply copy your album directories as-is
• Allows marking tracks as bookmarkable audiotracks
• Supports ejecting the iPod to show battery charge status
• Illustrative graphical user interface
• Small storage space requirements (12 KB)

First, I must warn you that when you use iPod shuffle Manager with your iPod shuffle, you cannot use iTunes to update its contents. But that is just what you want, isn't it — to prevent iTunes from messing up your tracks ever again. Also, note that iPod shuffle Manager works only with iPod shuffle (both first and second generation), not with any other iPod models.

OK, now that you have been warned, follow these steps.

1. Plug in your iPod shuffle.
2. Wipe out everything on the iPod shuffle, including the hidden iPod_Control directory. You can do this by deleting the files manually, by formatting the drive in Windows Explorer or by running the iPod shuffle reset utility by Apple.
3. Download the iPodShuffleManager.exe and copy it onto the iPod shuffle. You can place it in the root or in any directory.

And that's it. You are now ready to copy your favorite tracks to the iPod shuffle and run the program.

If you want to switch back to using iTunes, simply run iTunes, plug in the iPod shuffle and allow iTunes to take over the control.

The general way of using the program is to run it after updating the files on your iPod with Windows Explorer or with whatever file manager you use. The user interface will show the current contents of the internal database, i.e. the database the iPod will use when playing the tracks.

Click 'Refresh' button to refresh the database. The database will be built using all playable files found on the iPod. The track list will be sorted by the full file name including the directory names. The program supports Unicode file names and there should be no need to rename any files to make them playable. However, due to the fact that second generation iPod shuffles cannot correctly handle non-ASCII characters in filenames, iPod shuffle Manager may need to rename some files to make them available for the player. Renaming is done automatically and only if needed.

You can choose the current track, shown in bold, by double clicking a track. To mark a track for being handled as an audiobook, click the check box to the left of the track. The iPod will remember the playback position of audiobooks by placing a bookmark on them when you switch to another track. Also, they will not be played in the shuffle mode at all. This is handy for, well, audiobooks, hence the name.

To exit the program and to store the updated database, simply click 'Exit'. This will leave the iPod shuffle unejected: it will be available in Windows Explorer and it will blink the orange light. In order to see the batter charge status, you need to eject the iPod by clicking 'Eject'. Ejecting the iPod flushes all pending file operations on it and makes it unavailable in Windows Explorer. The orange light will stop blinking and it will show the battery charge status by showing either a constant orange or green light. The iPod shuffle Manager will be minimized to the icon tray, and clicking the icon will reload the iPod shuffle making it available for access again.

THIS SOFTWARE IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS". NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. YOU USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DATA LOSS, DAMAGES, LOSS OF PROFITS OR ANY OTHER KIND OF LOSS WHILE USING OR MISUSING THIS SOFTWARE.

I'm not really supporting this program in any way. If you manage break your iPod with it, too bad. That is unlikely to happen, though, as I have been using it myself since 2005 without any problems on both first and second generation iPod shuffles.

I have developed this program for my own purposes, much like Apollo, so I'm not really interested in bug reports or feature requests. Having said that, here is a list of some features that I might add in the future:

• Support for ordering the tracks in the UI
• Copying files to the iPod by dragging them to the UI
• Deleting files through the UI
• Support for playlists for track ordering
• Maybe some integration with Apollo