Don't feel bad man. I'm still rocking the portable CD player. Well, I do have a mp3 player that uses mini-CD's but I don't really consider that an mp3 player...

Yes, and there are several KDE applications which understand how to browse the iPod and upload MP3s to it.

If your problem is you cannot purchase music through iTunes I feel for you and actually agree with you, but if you bought the iPod only to use it as an MP3 player and USB or Firewire hard drive, well, I think you just need to do a little digging.

I tried the 60GB iPod with Linux and it works wonderfully - SuSE even automounted it for me, so I didn't even have to mount it. Excellent stuff. I was able to copy MP3s to it, back off, so when I buy a dedicated MP3 player, I am definitely buying an iPod. My only complaint about the iPod is the "nonreplaceable" battery, but when the Li-Polymer gives up the ghost I'll worry about it then. FWIW I have an iPaq 3670 I use daily and the Li-Polymber battery is still going strong.

Well at least you're objective.

I knew I would need to use iTunes to put songs onto my nano , unless I did something exotic.

What i did not expect was my inability to charge it from linux. That really really really sucks.

It does charge every now and again from linux , but often is unreliable.

This doesn't happen on my ibook. (and no its not my linux box , i have several of them).

Yes, something really exotic, like install amaroK and enjoy a plug-and-play interface enabling syncing your existing amaroK playlists with your iPod, or *gasp* mount it like any other mass storage device and just *gasp* drag and drop the mp3 files you want to listen to. OMG, it will just work, and is about as easy as iTunes!

Yeah, it's annoying that USB slots don't supply 5v when booted into Linux. Oh wait, they do. Nevermind.

It is likely a hardware issue, such as, is your iPod plugged into the USB port directly, into a powered hub, or an unpowered hub?

Re-read the above before you come back here whining and bashing for Linux. Asking for help is one thing, bashing the platform, even out of ignorance, only makes you come across as being a troll.

Wow. You must be... What... 12? Based your whole view on apples from using broken down fossilized macintoshes?

Mentally, anyhow. Microsoft retarded his mental development.

(just kidding. Relax. This is not intended to be taken as a flame/personal attack/etc.)

Howto: Use an iPod with Linux...

1) Install gtkpod
2) Change gtkpod's config to point to where you iPod mounts
3) mount your iPod
4) start adding playlists, just like in iTunes

Erm, that's about it. gtkpod will even copy over you iCal calendar (e.g. Evolution calendars) I've been using my mini for months with no problems.

OK, so Apple doesn't supply a Linux native iTunes, but there's software freely available which does everything you need to use an iPod.

Dave

Just because iPod mounts as a "mass-storage device" doesn't mean it's necessarily compatible. You can get it to mount that way in Windows as well, however, I had to reformat my iPod after trying to manually add files in Windows...

I tested it and it works.

amaroK works too. It isn't as "pretty" as iTunes but it works just as well.

I did not try gtkpod. When I get my own iPod I will. I'll probably use amaroK for the most part though.

This is how businesses work and operate, it's called revenue for the product they make. If you owned a business and created a product, let's say 1 million units and you've sold 750,000 of them so far, wouldn't you want to sell the rest of them before your new and improved product is announced and is available for sale? This is totally normal in the tech industry, you can buy the most hip up-to-date product one week and next week there's something better, live with it or wait a little longer if your going to complain that your product is outdated within a few months, cause it's gonna happen. What do you expect, Apple or any other company to create a product and just stop developing anything new.

I understand the business model.
I'm not an idiot.
But part of a good business model is also rewarding loyal customers. If you don't have loyal customers, you don't have a business any more.
Also, new releases, cheaper prices, and "free" upgrades don't need to come out so close to one another--let people enjoy what they bought for a while... then, do the upgrade. I mean, it wasn't that long after releasing Tiger that Apple then announced they were moving to Intel.

I guess some people will always see or view things differently. I think the rapid deployment of services is a good thing to me. It shows the company is thriving to better their products. Unlike companies like Microsoft who wait years to release new products it seems, sometimes even patches to fix their software even.

But that's probably one reason I don't buy my software and mainly stick with OpenSource software and I rarely upgrade my computers and components. I upgrade every couple of years, trying to maintain the latest and greatest costs too much and then bitching about it really proves nothing to me. I'm not picking on you, I'm just picking on the whole philosophy behind your views on technology and gadgets, etc.

There is plenty of competition though, don't like a company, their products or how they market and sell their products, don't buy their products.

Id rather go with a Dell DJ or Creative Zen myself.. I still have not jumped on the mp3 player bandwagon though.

Hmmm, with regards to one of the posts earlier up. My ipod works in linux, I don't dispute that. It's just that it was a mission for me to get it to work. i had to recompile the kernel to disable UFI_partition or some such.

I just feel that as a customer I am entitled to certain rights. one of those being support. Now, I don't think i'm being unreasonable. I don't demand linux support as a matter of course, although that would be nice. What i do want is for a company to realise that a large linux user base has sprung up and they have done nothing to address this.

Consider Google. If you visit their labs you might see most of the products are for windows, BUT they have a notice saying that they hope to have linux support in the future. Isn't that nice? Isn't that service? heck, I pay apple, I don't pay google, yet google gives me better service? what gives?

DVD jon has an application out that allows people to download from itunes from linux. Go to his blog and check it out. If he can do it, without knowing the interface to the itunes server, what's stopping apple from writing a supported program. that works how they want it to? I might still use dvd jon's software but thats my choice. right now i have no choice.

Consider Skype. My linux version isn't on a par with the windows version, but at least I have a version!!! They are considering the consumer. That's why I'll stay a customer.