"The ipod has a battery that you can pop out and replace."
o.k. man. I'm sure computer scientists will get a kick out of reading the 'instruction manual' and getting out the toolkick to replace a battery. This link about how to change the battery makes it clear that Apple has made it as difficult as possible to do without sending it back to the factory and doling out a hundred bucks for Apple's expert technicians to change the battery.
http://www.ipodbattery.com/ipod2k4install.htm
The fact that the i-pod firmware blocks all other major music websites other than i-tunes also indicates that they are trying to create a monopoly for online music distribution. monopoly=more cash for Apple. "think different" indeed.
Have you had any difficulty loading onto your iPod mp3s that you didn't buy from the iTunes store?
Has it ever occured to some of you that bash applie for making I-tunes a proprietary site has a lot to do with preventing music piracy.
I-pod provides an outlet to digitally distribute legitimate music. While nearly every other player allows pirated files to heard.
In other words... if you DON'T want your kid stealing music, buy an I-Pod.
"The fact that the i-pod firmware blocks all other major music websites other than i-tunes also indicates that they are trying to create a monopoly for online music distribution. monopoly=more cash for Apple. "think different" indeed."
I buy my music from Walmart.com and have never had a problem using it on my Ipod. I also have all of my MP3 files on my Ipod. You don't have to use Itunes at all. Check your facts.
It's not a problem. I take MP3s that I've bought elsewhere and just do the drag'n'drop into my iTunes library.
That's not really fair. Up above, you praised iRiver, Creative, and Rio as being more flexible than iPod. While the Creative battery replacement looks fairly simple (which may influence my next DAP purchase), the iRiver's instructions from the same site are far more complicated than the iPod's: use a special screwdriver to disassemble the case, break the glue that holds the battery in place, disconnect and remove the hard drive, then completely remove the motherboard from the case, all just to access the battery's plug! (Suddenly I'm not all that keen on keeping my h140 forever, no matter how good Rockbox turns out to be. When the battery dies, I'll make sure the player gets a decent burial.) And Rio doesn't seem to have a battery replacement option at all.