Sure the world of digital music is loaded with copyright sharks, DRM and other undesirables, but it's also increasingly teeming with cool, free open source tools and applications. Do you want to sync iPods and iPhones to any computer anywhere? How about playing Doom on your own customized OS for iPods or most other music players? Do you need customized music library management for multiple platforms, including Linux? Would you like to mix and record original music online with other musicians? How about a free, streaming radio application for your phone that will automate interesting playlists for you, and play while you use other apps? Here are eight great resources for doing all of this and more.

10 top Linux applications. Banshee (music management), Tomboy (note-taking), and F-Spot (online photos) make this list of top apps, and you'll find 10 more good offbeat Linux apps here.

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After many years of being an Amarok fan, I was introduced to Banshee. Banshee fast became my media player of choice, due to its ability to handle video and audio files, as well as stream internet radio and podcasts.

Until now, Banshee was only available for Linux. Developer Aaron Bockover explained recently a bit about cross platform development challenges, how to get Banshee for your Mac now, and why the Windows version will be Banshee at heart, but could look very different.