Wow, where do I start? I love the access to music that my iPod Classic affords me so it was with a heavy heart that I realized that the battery had given up the ghost. I looked at prices of a new battery as well as prices for a new iPod and opted to go with a new iPod. I thought about plunking down about $240 for a new one, but learned that I could trade in my old one and pay less. That worked out great, and I paid $129 for a new iPod Classic. I assumed that it would be a simple task to sync the new one, but that's where the frustration began. After multiple calls to Apple Help, I learned that I needed to upgrade iTunes to the new version so it would talk to my new & improved iPod Classic. Then I learned that the older operating system on my iMac wouldn't accept the necessary version of iTunes. I returned to the Apple Store (about 120 miles round trip) and bought Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I have a really crummy Verizon 3G Hotspot for my internet connection so uploading, downloading, and installing Snow Leopard and the new iTunes was an exercise in futility. After talking to probably a half dozen Apple folks in the Help Center, I was ready to pull the plug and live without an iPod. However, I called one more time, ran through this whole litany, and figured that I'd get another non-answer. What I got instead was a guy who admitted that he didn't know how to help me but referred me to Doug, a supervisor in the Apps Dept. Doug, who had cut his teeth on Apple IIe and IIc machines back in the early 80s, walked me through the whole process and said that he wasn't getting off the phone until he knew that my woes had been solved. And you know what? Doug was a man of his word! Everything worked fine, Doug was incredibly apologetic about my spending so much time with others who couldn't help me, and I couldn't be happier. So for those of you who become frustrated with your Apple Products, just ask for Doug!!!!
