Because of this unique ability, there are several ways to listen to music. You’re not just tied into listening on the iPod app. There are other apps that do the same, but slightly different, as well as apps that play radio stations and Internet stations. There’s really no limit to what you can do musically with an iPhone.

The most recognizable is of course the iPod app. The iPod app makes your iPhone resemble one of Apple’s MP3 players. It organizes your music by playlists, artists, and songs. It also includes videos, audiobooks, and podcasts. Additionally, it also includes Genius Playlists. Pick a song and it creates a playlist it thinks fits around that song. It manages all this by syncing with iTunes.

There’s another app out there that does the same thing as an iPod, but utilizes a few key changes. Amp Music Player is a paid app, but is less than a song download at just $0.99. It, too, syncs with your iPod, but it does a little more as well. Clicking on a song in a playlist gives you the choice of playing all or playing just that song. Just like the iPod app, it plays along in the background while you’re on most other apps.

The best feature of Amp, though, is it’s Now Playing screen. It displays a few lines of lyrics if it can find it, and clicking on it will take you the full set of lyrics. It also includes concert information and that same song on YouTube. Also displayed on the Now Playing screen are tools to share the song and get more info, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Additionally, you can change the look of the app with skins.

You don’t even have to personally own the music in iTunes to listen to what you want. The popular website, Pandora, also makes a free app for iPhones. As long as you don’t mind a few ads, it’s all entirely free. It allows you to set up your own stations with one song or artist as a guideline. Just make your choice, as it finds an endless music station that features music it deems similar.

Additionally, from the app, it will also introduce the artist and explain why it chose that song. It can be a fantastic way to find new music, as it allows you to give it a thumbs up or down, and after that, also bookmark it or buy it directly from iTunes. If you mark that you don’t like it, it will never play it again. It takes that mark into consideration as well, as it makes more suggestions.

The Last.fm app is very similar to Pandora. It also duplicates a service found on a website. You can choose an artist or song, and it finds a previously created “radio station.” You can also choose to like or dislike a song, and get more information, although the information is a little more complete on Last.fm. Both apps sync up with the websites and also combine your stations together if you wish. Last.fm has an additional benefit of allowing you to listen to “Neighbourhood Radio,” meaning the stations of others that the app deems most like yours.

Many regular radio stations have their own apps that you can install on your phone to listen to your favorites. Yet one app out there combines it all together. Pocket iTunes Includes radio stations from across the world. It lets you search through a favorite list, featured stations, by country, by genre, and by those local to you. It even includes scanner stations. It also has a web browser built in that comes in handy for searching up lyrics or other information, and can also connect you to iTunes to buy the song you’ve just enjoyed.

The music possibilities on an iPhone are limitless. It’s an iPod, but oh so much more. If there’s a certain music you’re interested in, it’s available. If there’s a certain way you like to listen to your music, that’s available to you as well. And while you’re listening to all your favorite music, don’t forget that it’s also a phone.

Video File Conversion

We’ve touched on video encoding with VLC here before, but VLC has been updated since then and the process is FAR simpler now. To convert a video file from one format to another, choose Media -> Advanced Open File. Make sure you pick Advanced, as the simple file opener dialog does not display conversion options. Add your file or files using the Add button, and once finished move the mouse cursor to the arrow next to the Play button to choose Convert.

At the second dialog, simply choose your output format and filename, click Start, and you’re all set.

DVD and Audio CD Ripping

While playing DVDs is common enough in VLC, many people don’t think of it when looking for a ripper. There are certainly more feature-rich DVD rippers out there, but VLC can always be counted on if you’re unwilling or unable to use a dedicated ripper program. To start, you use a process very similar to the Encoding section above. Click Media -> Open Disc to get the disc screen, and you’ll find buttons at the top to choose the DVD or Audio options.

Choose Convert instead of Play Then simply choose output name and type, just like the Video File Conversion section above.

Jump to Time

This is a great example of a tiny, simple feature that can come in very handy. If you find yourself hitting the wall in Hour 9 of your Star Wars marathon, you can take note of the current play progress and jump back there tomorrow once you’ve had a chance to eat, sleep, and rethink your life. Just tell VLC where you left off and it’ll jump right back.

Last.fm Scrobbling

While mainly for video, VLC is a fairly capable music player as well. If you’re a Last.fm user, you can use VLC to submit your tracks. The option to enable this is in the same place as the normalizer function, Tools > Preferences > Audio.

Automatic Audio Normalization

Many people and programs who encode video don’t always respect good practices when it comes to audio volume. There are few things more annoying while running a video playlist than to have to jump out of your chair and crank down the volume because someone didn’t respect decibel limits. Fortunately, VLC includes a live audio normalizer that detects and suppresses sudden jumps in sound. To access it, choose Tools -> Preferences -> Audio.

It’s worth noting that there is a slight delay in the normalizer. If you’re watching a video where a gunfight breaks out, the first shot might be missed by the normalizer but it will kick in shortly after. Also, it seems that if you enable this function while a video is playing, you will need to restart the video for the normalizer to take effect.

If you’ve got a useful tip for getting the most out of this excellent application, let us know in the comments below.

Firefox Add-on

The first is to a Firefox add-on called Fire.fm. Once you installed the add-on, it will load the Last.fm homepage. Sign in and give Fire.fm permission to access your account. A toolbar will be added with basic controls to start and stop a song, start a new station, change stations, adjust volume, ban or love a song.

The obvious downside to having this toolbar is the need to have Firefox running at all times. This isn’t all bad if you are surfing the web or don’t mind having a browser open all the time. On a Windows machine, Firefox must be minimized for the music to still play. Where as on a Mac, no window needs to be open or minimized for the music to keep playing. However, without the browser open, the controls are not available to skip, love or ban a song. Not very convenient.

Download

The desktop application for both Windows and Mac fills this void. The downloaded app gives you slightly more control and information than the Firefox add-on in a stand alone window.

The desktop app can be minimized or closed and still be controlled from the task bar in Windows or the menu bar on a Mac. The majority of the time, this is the method I use. I have things set up so I can stream audio from my computer to my home audio receiver in another room. I leave it on all the time when I am at home so there is always great music in the background.

On the Webpage

The most social way to use Last.fm, is via the website. The site offers a plethora of features so all of your friends know what your your listening to. You can share you library, suggest songs or artist you like to friends and so on. Those features are pretty common among most social music sites.

A feature that I really like is, Last.fm displays the local shows for artist that play in your radios stations. At first glance, this feature didn’t appeal to me; When I looked a little deeper, there were A LOT of shows at very small clubs and venues. Some of these shows weren’t advertised anywhere else in town. To top it off, there is an option to add the show date and information to your calendar with a reminder.

While viewing an event on the site, there is a spot on the page to let others know you are attending the show. This puts you on a list of attendees allowing everyone to see who else will be there.

Software Integration

Developers have created add ons to other apps like Aduim, iPhone, Android, social networking sites, Greasmonkey and many others. Through their hard work, it is  super easy to show the world your vast and varied musical tastes. Some of the add-ons will list or “scrobble” the songs you have listened to on other devices or with other apps such as iTunes.

What other ways do you use to access your Last.fm?