More Mac Shareware
AppleScript isn’t the only way code warriors have crafted helpful utility programs for the iPod. Here’s an assortment of standalone software programs that do wacky and useful things for Mac iPods.
PodQuest. If you’re already planning on taking your iPod along on your next driving trip, make that little white jukebox do double-duty as a navigator. The $10 PodQuest program, shown in Figure 14-2, downloads driving directions for destinations in North America and Europe from the MapQuest and MapBlast Web sites to the iPod’s Notes or Contacts folder. This program works with Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, Safari 1.0 or later, and all versions of the iPod.

Figure 14-2. With PodQuest, your iPod not only rides shotgun as a music machine, but can also display driving directions downloaded from trusted travel sites like MapBlast and MapQuest.
iPod Launcher starts up a whole batch of programs and scripts automatically whenever you connect the iPod to your Mac OS X system. You might use it to trigger auto-backups of the data files on the iPod, for example. Or, if you use it in tandem with iPod It (page 217), you can synchronize your Entourage data as well as download news, headlines, and weather reports without having to think about any of it.
VoodooPad is a notepad with delusions of grandeur, as you can see in Figure 14-3. VoodooPad ($20) works with Mac OS X 10.2 and later.