iPod or Zen?

For me, iTunes is actually the biggest reason to stay away from iPods. As others have already mentioned, if you're used to transfer files on your computer via drag & drop or copy & paste and organize them in folders, the restrictive database management of iTunes will prove very bulky.

I know there are solutions to bypass iTunes and make an iPod "mass storage"-compatible, but these tools have to be installed on every computer you intend to use your iPod and music collection with. However, I'd prefer to just plug my MP3 player into the USB port of a computer and have it detect the thing automatically (all modern operating systems, including Linux and MaxOS support USB mass storage). That way, you can use the thing to store all sorts of files easily. From my knowledge, this is just not possible with an iPod by default.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by RABicle

Hahahaha what? I read this as you complaining that iTunes does stuff for you. You want to indiviually move and keep your music organised? Why? Using your computer shouldn't be a chore! You're holding back progress of the entire software programming industry!

You don't seem to grasp the concept that users have different preferences of organizing their music. The iPod/iTunes concept just so happens to drastically interfere with mine and that's why I will never recommend an iPod to people who prefer to have their music organized in folders like I do.

How ya doing, buddy?