This is one of the best explanations for the many reasons I have to NOT own an iPod. Any system engineered to specifically prevent me from customizing it is off my list so goddamn fast….
Rio Karma? Built in web server for u/l d/l to and from over your lan (recharger cradle has an etherenet jack that will sniff out an ip if you have dhcp, or you can assign static via UI). Also USB2, if i want that. No limit to computers I can marry to my player, or where my music goes.
If you don’t like the cross-platform web client built into the thing (or prefer USB transfers) you can use a desktop client.
Freedom makes me happy.