Dr. Mac's OS X Tip-of-the-Day  

Did you know there's a way to squeeze hundreds of songs onto a single CD-R or CD-RW disc? There is. The secret is to burn an "MP3 CD" instead of an "Audio CD."

Now of course you can do it with Toast Titanium, but that costs money. Instead, use iTunes 2, which, unlike the original version of iTunes can burn a CD in the MP3 CD format. Open iTunes Preferences, click the CD Burning tab, and then click the MP3 CD radio button (as opposed to the Audio CD radio button) for the Disk Format. Create a playlist that contains less material than your blank CD-R (650 or 700MB, depending on the disc), then click Burn. That's all. You now have hundreds of your favorite songs on a single inexpensive CD.

This technique also works to back up your MP3 files.

Finally, if you want to listen to this type of disc anywhere but your Mac, you'll need a CD player capable of playing MP3 CDs. Many portable "Discman-style" CD players now offer this feature at prices starting well under $100. And a limited number of in-dash car CD players now have it as well, but they're not as cheap.

To discuss this tip (or anything you like) in Dr. Mac's OSXFAQ Forum, click here:

Bob LeVitus is a leading authority on Mac OS and the author of 37 books, including Mac OS X For Dummies and The Little iTunes Book.