I don’t talk a lot about software here, but there’s a downloadable app I’d like to recommend for those using iTunes on a Mac. I’ve converted my CD collection to mp3s and have so many songs that often a song will play and I won’t recognize it. I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

I used to stop what I was doing, click over to the iTunes application, and check the “now playing” window. Synergy, one of the best apps I’ve downloaded in a long time, changes all that by providing on-the-fly song and artist information via a floating window. The window floats up unobtrusively for a couple seconds, displays song info and cover art, and then fades away like an MTV video clip title.

Synergy searches Amazon.com’s database of images on-the-fly and comes up with a matching CD cover image for the tune that is playing. It’s not 100% accurate in its searches, so sometimes it comes up with something amusing and inappropriate. synergy also inserts a control panel at the top of the menu bar so you can advance and control music while using other apps.

It works seamlessly on my Mac, no hitches. Worth the 5€ registration fee. Love it.