After a four-day overseas trip that took him to four countries in the Middle East, Vice President Dick Cheney really wanted to get his iPod charged for that long return flight to Washington.

Since it is his plane, the vice president’s iPod took priority and was plugged into one of the only working power outlets on Air Force Two, frustrating reporters who were trying to file stories.

What’s on that iPod that Cheney was so eager to charge it up and put on the headphones?

The vice president’s iPod library ranges from country to classical, according to an administration official.

He has a good amount of music from the 1940s and 1950s (oldies but goodies) and apparently is fond of Johnny Cash.

An iPod White House

Last week, in an interview with Fox News, President Bush revealed that he has an iPod Shuffle — the stripped-down version of the music player that’s barely bigger than a stick of chewing gum.

“Lightweight and crank it on, and you shuffle the Shuffle,” he said. The president said his library includes the Beach Boys, the Beatles, country music and Aretha Franklin.

Bush’s daughters gave him a standard iPod for his birthday earlier this year. His media adviser, Mark McKinnon, said the commander in chief used it to play “heart-thumping” music while he rode his mountain bike. The player featured plenty of country music but also Joni Mitchell and the Knack’s “My Sharona.”

McKinnon cautioned against reading too much into the selections, though.

“No one should psychoanalyze the playlist,” he said. “It’s really just great songs designed for a great workout. And if there any songs in there with controversial lyrics, I’ll take the heat for that.”

Public domain Torrents has links to more than 500 movies in the public domain available for download via BitTorrent. Most are compatible with the video iPod.

The Play iBox Solid Boxer is an ideal knit boxer for trendy, gadget-savvy music lovers. Made from a cotton/spandex blend, this button fly boxer has a discrete front pocket which is perfect for holding your iPod, other mp3 players or your cell phone. This Play iBox Boxer is available in solid fashion colors and the solid waistband features a racing stripe and the Play logos. If you buy 2 pairs of the Play iBox Boxer, you’ll receive 3 free iTunes. iPod not included with purchase.

It is such a cool idea and they’re only fifty bucks. Looks perfect for use on airplanes or while I’m mowing the lawn. I love that the Click-wheel is still totally accessible. I can hardly wait to try a pair.

You want an iPod? It’s over there: just beneath the NyQuil and next to the Gatorade. Apple Computer Inc.’s hot digital music players may be better associated with the Cupertino, California, company’s hip Apple Stores, but over the past few months, they’ve also started to pop up next to less exotic products in special vending machines built by Zoom Systems.

Since April, the San Francisco company has been selling iPods across the U.S. in “robotic product delivery systems” (don’t say the words “vending machine” around Zoom Systems executives; they find the term archaic). The first iPods were sold in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and the players can now be found in “Zoom Shop” machines operating in malls, hotels and grocery stores across the country, the company said.

Programmers Benjamin Eriksson and Mattias Pierre have announced that iDoom now runs on an iPod nano and features configurable controls.