iTunes Sync 1.4.0 has been released and it's jam packed full of changes. The biggest change in this new release is that iTunes Sync can now check for updates on program startup, if you so desire. The auto-update check is enabled by default but can be easily disabled using the system tray menu. The other big change is the re-design of the synchronize window (again). I have merged the "Select a Drive" window with the sync window, so that you can get your music sync'd easier, with less clicks.

Here is a complete rundown on the changes:

• Automatic update checking at startup (defaults to enabled, but can be disabled if desired)
• Double-click the system tray icon to open the synchronize window
• Fixed the empty notification balloon for device insert/removal when the volume label is blank
• Added 5 new folder structures:
• \ Album \ Artist \ # - Song.mp3
• \ Artist \ # - Song.mp3
• \ Album \ # - Song.mp3
• \ Genre \ Artist - # - Song.mp3
• \ Genre \ Artist \ # - Song.mp3
• Doesn't allow duplicate MP3 player names anymore
• Changed "unknown" filenames to be more descriptive (example: "unknown artist" or "unknown album")
• Got rid of the "Choose a Drive" window and moved it to a drop-down in the synchronize window for quicker drive selection
• Saves the last used MP3 player name and selected it automatically when opening the synchronize window
• Saves the volume name that was last used for each MP3 player and selects it automatically when selecting that MP3 player in the synchronize window
• Added a "Language" option to the system tray menu in preparation for localization support (currently only has English as an option though)
• Now detects and truncates long files (over 240 characters) to prevent errors when trying to copy the file the MP3 player

Download it and enjoy it's delicious fat-free flavour today!

I was checking my stats for iTunes Sync recently and noticed that in my top 10 referring sites 1 was French and 2 are German. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, as iTunes Sync is English only. This got me thinking, is there any demand for localized versions of iTunes Sync? I have always wanted an excuse to play around with localization, so if anyone is interested in assisting with translations just drop me a line. There really isn't that much text in the interface, so translation would consist of about 50-60 words and phrases. If there isn't enough demand right now this is always something that can revisited for a later release.

Thanks to the tremendously positive feedback I have received from many people regarding iTunes Sync, I have been able to add a dozen devices so far to the Tested MP3 Players List. There is a healthy mix of makes and models, along with a couple cell phones as well. Keep that feedback rolling in using the Contact Me link at the top of the page to have your device, name and a link to your website (if you want) added to the tested MP3 players list. A big thanks to everyone who has submitted feedback so far - without your feedback iTunes Sync couldn't have developed to the point it is at now. Thanks!

Let's get right down to business. iTunes Sync v1.3 has been released and includes many requested features and many fixes:

• Added new file formats to check for when synching: mp4, aiff, flac, m4a, m4p, m4v, 3gp, mov, avi, mpg, mpeg
• With the new file formats iTunes Sync should now support video podcast (vodcasts) synching
• Moved the settings file to the User's appdata folder, instead of storing it in the install folder under Program Files - this should help with Vista permissions. iTunes Sync will migrate old settings into the new location and delete the old config file
• Got rid of the "identification file or folder" scheme (see blog post for reasoning)
• Implemented a new sync method. Now you pick a drive when synching - this is in preparation for MTP support currently in development
• Stores the volume label of the last device you synched to and selects it automatically in the device list next time you sync
• Corrected a spelling mistake in the Confirm Sync window
• Fixed a bug that incorrectly calculated the free space of a drive while deleting files
• Other minor tweaks and fixes

The biggest change is the elimination of the "identification file or folder" setting. This confused a number of people when trying to get their MP3 player to sync, so after much debate I decided to scrap it all together. I originally implemented it this way because I had been using iTunes Agent for so long, and had gotten used to it. However, I believe this new system will be better in the long run, especially when MTP support (currently in development) is released. So, now you just configure your device by giving it a name, sync path, playlist and folder structure. Simple. No creating files on the device for iTunes Sync to search for. When you want to sync you just choose your MP3 player from the list, choose a drive from the list of available drives and voila, sync magic happens. iTunes Sync will remember which drive volume label you used for each device and will automatically select it for you next time. Another big change is the addition of many more file extensions, which as a bonus also allows iTunes Sync to copy over vodcasts (video podcasts) to your device.

If you have any problems, questions, concerns, suggestions or anything else just jump over to the Discussion Forum.

A minor update to Clipboard Text Scrubber has been released.

It fixes a few little problems and cleans some things up:

• Switched message boxes to tray balloons because they are less intrusive
• Added an "About" and "Help" item to the menu
• Renamed "Close" menu item to "Exit"
• Re-jigged the order of the menu items
• Bumped version from 1.1 to match new versioning scheme

I'm sure you all can imagine how many emails I have received from people asking me to add support for new MP3 players in iTunes Sync (trust me, it's a lot). So far my biggest problem with adding MP3 player support has been getting a hold of different devices to test with. It's nearly impossible! I have tested with as many devices as I can gather from my friends, but unfortunately this doesn't include any Sansa devices or Sony devices. These are by far the most requested devices to add support for, but so far have been the trickiest to find for testing. I am hard at work building in MTP support for a future version which will add support for a huge number of devices, but I'm not sure about the Sansa or Sony devices. If you have one of these devices, and you are somewhat technically inclined, I invite you to contact me about testing private builds of iTunes Sync.

A big thanks to everyone who has contacted me so far about results with their MP3 players. It has been a huge help, so keep those emails coming!