This brings up a question which crystalized when I read your tip. Does iPod have and utilize all the info like last played, when added, etc. even tho it's not displayed or do you have to resynch to have your playlist update?

If you enable the ability to manage playlists (as opposed to managing in manual mode), the iPod syncs and resets itself everytime it is plugged into iTunes. To be clear, it is iTunes--not iPod--that manages playlists. There are two criteria in my randomizer smartlist to help keep things fresh and in rotation:

- Last played - is not in the last - 15 days
- Play count - is less than - 5

That should do the trick.

Sorry I'm a bit new to all this but I only really listen to stuff through my ipod. When I synch with iTunes will the fact that I have listened to a particular song be recognised by iTunes? I can obviously rate songs on the iPod and this info synches accross but is this true of other info?

Thanks.

>>"will the fact that I have listened to a particular song be recognised by iTunes"

Yes. Once you resync your iPod with iTunes, the column called "Last played" will indicate the songs that you just played on your iPod. It will also keep a cumulative tally of the number of times that a song has been played by both iTunes and the iPod (which is handy if you don't want to songs to reappear too frequently in your randomizer playlist).

OK Thanks. One last stupid question - why do you use the "match only check songs" criteria? Do you uncheck songs that you don't want to listen to?

Exactly. There are some tracks that I prefer to not have in my playlist either because they're too long or that I rarely listen to them. It's just another way to ensure that the random list remains fresh and listenable.