[kevkrom]

You download/purchase music files to your computers hard-drive or rip songs from CD that you own or borrow, and store those files on your comouter's hard-drive, and then you choose which ones you want on your iPod and load them from the computer's hard-drive onto the iPod. Right? Is that right, or do people download / buy songs from websites right onto their iPods?

The tracks are downloaded to the hard drive (or ripped to the hard drive). The typical usage of iPod has the user "sync" their iPod to the computer, which will update the tracks and playlists on the iPod based on your setting from the iTunes applications.

Do you back up all your music files?

Anything I've gotten from the iTunes store (typically through free credits from the Pepsi promotions), I back up to physical media. I do find the fact that you can't re-download from iTunes an annoyance -- if they have a record that your account purchased a particular track or album, your account should be able to download it multiple times.

[SlowBoat407]

I do find the fact that you can't re-download from iTunes an annoyance -- if they have a record that your account purchased a particular track or album, your account should be able to download it multiple times.

Try going back to the music store and telling them that because your dog chewed up your favorite CD, which you purchased from them and for which you still have the receipt, they should give you another one for free.

The plastic it's stamped on is worth a quarter.

[SamAdams76]

Anything I've gotten from the iTunes store (typically through free credits from the Pepsi promotions), I back up to physical media. I do find the fact that you can't re-download from iTunes an annoyance -- if they have a record that your account purchased a particular track or album, your account should be able to download it multiple times.

You shouldn't blame Apple for this. All these restrictions on music that you purchase are imposed by the recording industry.