[jaguar]

Argh get a grip. Batteries last for ages, mine's a 2nd generation, had it for years, still only run out of battery once and I use it every damn day for hours. You can get a new battery fitted by apple for 100 or a 3rd party for 50, kits are even cheaper.

It has a little trouble reading new tracks from HDD while being swung about but keeps 5-6 (depending on size) in ram so it's not exactly a common problem.

I've dropped mine from around 1m onto concrete a couple of times and from a lesser height onto wood floors, thrown it onto the bed and it's bounced onto the floor a few times, scratched but works perfectly. One time it bounced off a bed, into the corner of a radiator HARD and then onto a hard wood floor, thought that was the end of it for sure but it was right as rain. For the record I've given my powerbook similar treatment and it's still working fine (2m onto concrete in a thin case, 1m onto concrete without), if a tad dinted. You can rip music in iTunes in MP3 format, AIFF and unprotected AAC (which is supported by some other players) as well as Apple Lossesss then convert them to something else if it suits you.

I am looking at getting a 4th gen iPod, primarily as I'm interested in using it as a photo dump and mine was before the connector used for that but otherwise I'd have no reason to upgrade, after years of hard use it's as good as ever and I know plenty of others with similar stories. Apple make quality hardware, I guess most PC users aren't familiar with the concept. 1 year warranty is standard, you can buy an extended warranty (3 year) for generally very reasonable prices and with ipods they usually just give you a new one without much hassle.