Q: On my computer, I can use iTunes’ “shuffle” feature in relation to any Genre, Artist, Album, Playlist, etc. that I select, whereas on the iPod itself, it seems I can only apply shuffle through the whole of my song library. Is there any way I can make it as selective as on the computer? I have over 12,000 tracks loaded so this facility would be extremely helpful.

- Norman

A: Absolutely. The iPod most certainly can shuffle any container of music (albums, artists, playlists, genres, composers, etc.) just like iTunes, but admittedly, the setting to enable it is obscurely placed within the iPod’s main “Settings” menu. Here, you can set the “Shuffle” feature to “Songs,” “Albums,” or “Off.” This feature cannot shuffle by Grouping like iTunes can, but it’s otherwise very similar to iTunes’ feature: enable the setting, and almost anything you play will shuffle accordingly.

We hear this question all the time at Ask iLounge, and we’ve always wished the iPod had a more immediate way to toggle a local shuffle setting without leaving the Now Playing screen. Until that happens, however, this will work well enough for most people.