One of the applications that received an update during the week of Macworld 2006, but received very little exposure, was iTunes. This is partially because there were some very significant announcements made, and the changes in iTunes weren't as significant. With that in mind, I did want to introduce you to one of the changes made in iTunes... the addition of the MiniStore.

We all know and love the iTunes Music Store. It's where we purchase a good portion of our music and video content. It's very searchable, which makes it easy to find what you are looking for. But what if you don't know what you are looking for? What if you want something similar to a song you already own? The iTunes MiniStore is the place to be.

To use the MiniStore, you first need to have the latest version of iTunes running (run Software Update... to get the most current version), and you must be listening to something in your own library. Once your music has begun playing, look in the lower portion of your iTunes window. There is a new section that lists top items that Apple thinks you may be interested in, based on what you are playing. Check out this screenshot:

Now just because Apple thinks these are close matches doesn't mean they are correct. From what I have seen so far, however, it's pretty good.

By default, this new feature is turned on. If you want to turn this off for some reason, simply hit Shift + Command + M (or go to Edit | Hide MiniStore).