An interesting read.
I have an I-Pod, the 30Gb Video one, and I like it.
I've never bought an I-Tune. Every song on mine I've either ripped from CD's I already own or from mp3's.
I went to download I-Tunes' 'Free Single Of The Week' and they wanted my credit card number. Why? The hell with that, I wasn't going to buy anything.
I like the point the author makes about the I-Pod quickly losing it's new sheen, they do scratch very very easily. Imagine the research Apple undertook to make that happen, just to try and guarantee millions of gullible customers upgrade every 18 months or so.
And the author is also correct in what he says about p2p networks.
The I-Pod I own, together with a pair of Sennheisser PX-200 headphones, is still the best portable mp3 player I've heard. I've heard a Creative Zen, similar model, and it's almost as good. Almost, but not quite.
Whatever, my next player (if ever I buy another one) will probably be a Creative Zen 30Gb video model, or whatever is the current model at that time.
I've often wondered why portable devices favour mp4 files for the video format, anybody any idea?