iPod meet Ubuntu
Connecting your Apple iPod to an Ubuntu Linux machine is just "slightly more difficult than it is with iTunes."
That's the good news and the bad news.
For the Ubuntu fans out there TechRepublic has a nice primer on how to connect the iPod to your Linux machine.
All you need is a program called gtkpod, a few command lines or a Synaptic tool. Jack Wallen does the walkthrough and it's an interesting hack.
My problem: I'm not the brightest bulb in the room. And in fact, I'm one of those lazy folks that just want to plug something in and have it work. So when I usually run the other way when I see lines like:
sudo mount /dev/sdc2 /media/IPOD
and
/dev/sdc2 /media/IPOD auto defaults,user,rw 0 0.
Meanwhile, screens like this give me indigestion.
The only conclusion for me to make is that I'm not ready for Ubuntu--or the OS is not ready for the plug-and-play (pray) masses yet. However, for the more technically inclined folks Wallen's hack isn't brain surgery.
That said there is progress on the desktop Linux front. That hack wasn't even available a few short months ago.
More Ubuntu reading: