Jobs genius wasn't inventing things. I don't think Apple ever put anything out in the world that was totally original, except, arguably, the Newton. His gift was looking at things that were already there and saying,'Can't we make a version of this that's actually usable?'

How clever. I haven't heard that 20th times. ****ty batteries have soooo much to do with the user being an idiot. Ipods freezing randomly? Itunes wiping your device? I'd love to hear why that is idiot error. Maybe your dog knocking your phone from an arm rest makes you an idiot, but the screen shattering from a 30in fall, WITH THE CASE ON? Come on....
I've had iPods since 2005, never had iTunes wipe out anything but then I am also keep multiple copies of my music in many locations so even if it did happen it would be an annoyance and nothing more. The majority of my music is a rip from my own CD's (about 700 of them) but even the songs that I have bought off iTunes have all been backed up as an audio CD and ripped to an MP3 file for maximum portability. I've had all sorts of other devices lock up, it isn't an Apple exclusive thing.

I really wanted a Creative Zen MP3 player before I bought the iPod, the problem was every display model that I looked at had the metal case cover popping off and not a one had a fully functional headphone jack, looking on line it seemed to be a common issue. I went with the iPod (40gb) because it seemed solid and there was an accessory market for it, it was my first Apple product. I have two other iPods currently used and and iPhone 3G (gave to a friend and still in use) are the only other Apple products owned so I am far from an Apple fanboy. They make solid products and learning how to use them would help most users.