This is an iPod pros/cons from the Bellville, IL newspaper, by a Chicago Tribune writer.
Belleville News-Democrat | 12/26/2006 | Doing megabyte math, other secrets to buying MP3’s
GOOD: Works easily with the PC or the Mac. Long battery life. Slim and unobtrusive. Not too few songs, not too many songs. Stylish.NOT SO GOOD: You can use only iTunes and eMusic to buy music. Other music stores aren’t compatible. Still, those two stores offer a lot of variety and are easy to use.
It is totally untrue that iTunes and eMusic are the only places you can buy music for your iPod. Music Stem , the store that Greenleaf Music uses, sells mp3s (which are by definition DRM free, and playable on an iPod or just about any other player), as does my store (Pepper Enterprises), and any number of other independent download stores. Some major labels are doing mp3 experiments with Yahoo Music and other outlets as well.
Why would this paper get this so wrong? If I were a paranoid iPod apologist, I would say that it is due to a bias against Apple, but I don’t think that is the case. I think they just don’t know what they are talking about.