"the iTunes software "synchronised" her files it would copy tracks to the iPod she did not want and she had difficulty controlling what went on to the iPod."

As others have said, a simple drop-down choice from automatic synchronise to manual solves this problem. My daughter and I used to use the same iTunes, and the places where our musical tastes converge are rare, yet we never found any problem with downloading unwanted tracks to either of our iPods while we had iTunes on manual synch. She has had both a shuffle and a nano.

You're right, Spleen Cringe - there's no pressure to use the iStore, but it's there if you want it. I find iTunes a very user-friendly way of filing and storing my music, and I do use the iStore from time to time (like when I needed a dose of Bing Crosby just before Christmas and I needed it NOW). It is wonderful for those instant gratification moments.

The iPod is simply a beautifully designed piece of kit, which is very easy to use. Either design floats your boat or it doesn't, but the gorgeousness of my iPods has definitely endeared them to me. So much so that I bought an iPhone recently. Now THERE'S a gorgeous and incredibly useful thing. I now keep my old (four years, no new battery) iPod at home, permanently docked to my speakers. And the iPhone is my on-the-go music system now.