Apple discontinued the iPod Mini

It seems you're not the only one on the hunt for this axed item-and your competition is willing to pay top dollar. While you'd expect to see prices drop on an outmoded gadget, in the case of Apple' s original undersize MP3 player, the opposite occurred. The limitedsupply Mini became an instant collector's item, and it remained a hot seller through the 2005 holiday season (well after it had been discontinued), even priced at a markup. When we last checked, comparison-shopping sites were offering anything from a refurbished first-generation 4 GB model for $199 to an unused, sealed-in-the-box second-generation 6 GB Mini for $399-a 60 percent hike from the player's former $249 price tag, which just goes to show: Size doesn't matter.

Tips and Tricks for your iPod

Those playIists you create in iTunes save you from being jarred by bad song transitions (you know, Motörhead to Mozart). But did you know you can create a playIist when you're away from your PC? Here's how:

1. Locate a song on your iPod that you want to include on a playIist.

2. CIick and hold the "select" button until that title flashes.

3. Repeat this process until you have everything you want on your playIist. (To get all the tracks from an artist, album, or genre, click on it and hold just as you would a song title.)

4. Now go to your iPod's main menu, click on "Music," and then again on "PlayIists."

5. Scroll down and choose "On-The-Go" to find your new hit parade.

Source: Cargo Magazine