Originally Posted by ephemeron
There's free software for getting music onto iPods (not to mention open-source replacements for the software the iPod itself runs), and they play MP3's just fine -- there's no obligation to use anything proprietary.
Having to use ANY software (apart from the operating system, of course) to get music on your mp3 player is a PITA. If I can't just copy and paste music and any other files on and off a player, I won't be getting it. When my player (Creative Zen Nano) is hooked up to a computer, it behaves just like an external hard drive. You can use software to upload and organize your files if you want to, but you don't have to.