Got a stack of LPs you want to store on your hard drive instead of on a shelf? Wired's How-To Wiki runs down the steps to convert LPs into MP3s using free software. Of course, you'll need a turntable and a computer with a line-in port on the sound card to get the job done, too. Photo by timsamoff.

Mac OS X only: By default, when you have iTunes set to automatically organize your music library, it saves the files in an /Artist/Album/Track # Song Title.mp3 format. But, if you don't want that track number stuck in the beginning of your music file names automatically, a quick preference change in iTunes 8 will remove it. Macworld explains that you can fire up Terminal, and type the following commands:

Then, uncheck iTunes' "Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized" preference, apply, and then re-check that option. At that point iTunes 8 will rename all your music files sans track number prefix. Of course, a backup to your collection before letting iTunes do its thing is prudent, just in case the big rename goes awry. How do you name and organise your music? Or do you not even think about it? Let us know in the comments.

Favtape, the Seeqpod-powered counterpart to the still-shut-down Muxtape, has upgraded with a wealth of user-friendly features since we last looked at it. The simple layout remains the same, but now it's easier to arrange your playlist, share your "tapes" with a static URL, embed a playlist with album art, and connect and listen from an iPhone. Because Favtape relies on Seeqpod's web-based MP3 searching, there's still somewhat of a hit-or-miss factor with song playback, but that also makes it less likely to come down when the RIAA gets sufficiently annoyed. Favtape is a free service, requires a sign-up to save playlists.

One watchful Lifehacker reader noticed a small arrow button in the newly-released iTunes 8. Click it in the left-most column of list view, and album art pops out, resize-able by widening or shrinking the column. Cool find, and it makes for a nice compromise between the helpful data in list view and pretty pictures of CoverFlow. Haven't downloaded iTunes 8 yet? Check out other features and screenshots in Adam's first look at iTunes 8. Thanks Runar!

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You can spend a good chunk of time searching the web for an ecard that isn't annoying, cheesy, ad-ridden, or some combination of all three. Or you can grab a picture, choose a song, and send a super-clean, customised ecard through Postcard.fm. Simply upload an image file and MP3 to the free, no-registration-required site, add a message, and mail it out. The recipient gets a link to your e-postcard page, with no ads in sight (at least for now). This means you can be as cute, clever, snarky, or affectionate as you want, rather than letting some oddly-shaped critters express your wishes.

Web-based service 8tracks remixes 30-minute MP3 playlists for personal listening or sharing with friends. 8Tracks offers all of the basic functionality of previously covered Muxtape, with the additional ability to add artwork and information about the mix itself. Users can browse others' mixes, comment, and view mixes sorted by popularity and freshness. Here is a sample mix I enjoyed listening to while reviewing the site:

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Telstra's BigPond Music arm has started selling music in unprotected MP3 format, making it a much more appealing rival to the iTunes store than when it was a Windows Media-only shop (which blocked any iPod users for starters). All four major labels have signed up for the store, and tracks are available encoded at 256Kbps or (in some cases) 320Kbps. Telstra is currently still selling WMA formats as well, but we'll be surprised if this lasts too long. Pricing starts at $1.69 for individual tracks (BigPond ISP subscribers get a discount of 12% on individual tracks or 9% on albums, and don't have downloads counted against their quota). (Thanks Shane G!) [BigPond Music]

Free webapp Hearwho converts text you enter into an MP3 audio file you can download. Select from a male or female voice, English or Spanish text conversion, and choose the quality of the resulting file at Hearwho. Similar to previously covered VozMe, the results are no substitute for a professional actor hired to read an audio book, but if you've got text you'd like to listen to while commuting or working out the results aren't bad at all.

The second alpha release of the inventive Linux media player Amarok has hit the web, and while there's a new look and some cool new tweaks, there's really two big reasons to take a look—namely, Windows and OS X. You heard right: The next full release of Amarok, one of our readers' favourite media players, will be cross-platform. At the moment, only Linux users can reliably run the testers' release, so I loaded it up and decided to share some early screens to let you all glimpse at the other open source, extensible, innovative app that's coming soon.

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Windows Mobile/Windows CE/Palm OS: Although development has halted on the project, The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) remains a robust option for media playback on Windows and Palm-based mobile devices. TCPMP supports video streaming and a wide variety of video formats including AVI, MP4, ASF, MPEG 1 and 4, WMV, DivX and XviD, to name a few. TCPMP also plays back several digital audio file formats, including MP3, OGG, and WAV. TCPMP's interface is simple and clean with emphasis on ease of playback and a light memory footprint. TCPMP is a free download for Windows Mobile/CE and Palm OS.

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