iGuess it's iDead: My Apple is a Lemon (Updated)

My first foray into the Cult of Mac, an iPod Nano, arrived in the mail yesterday.  Warily, I removed it from its inscrutable plastic pod. I followed the instructions, not content with the alleged intuitiveness of the device. I installed iTunes, which to its credit found all 12,000+ of my songs.  It found my iPod, and attempted to sync the music up for me. This doesn't work 100% since the Nano only has 8 GB of memory, which only stores a little over 1,000 songs. But so far, things were going swimmingly.

I doodled around with the iPod, even figuring out how to play one of the games.  I'm not sure why "less buttons and labels" equals "more intuitive" in Apple-speak.  While I did figure out how to use it, and it didn't take long, I don't understand what is so wrong with an on/off button. I'm a gadget fan, and usually have little problem figuring them out (it's half the fun!). And this little iPod was perhaps slightly easier than most. But I wouldn't call it intuitive.

It is nifty though, and the screen is very clear and easy to read. I like that you can shake it to make the songs shuffle, and the video camera looks promising.  I haven't figured out the "genius" thingy yet, which allegedly builds intuitive (there's that word again) playlists. It worked in iTunes, but not sure what to do with it on the iPod.  But really, all of these opinions have just been rendered moot. My Apple is a Lemon.

After setting it up, I decided to take it to work to show it off. It's kind of like showing off your first cell phone 10 years after everyone already has one. Anyway, I doodled around with a little, set the pedometer to see how many steps I took in my morning. Then I just laid it down on the desk. Screen goes black, and I guess it's off. How do I know? There is no off button.  So, the next time I pick it up (around noon), it won't turn on. At all.  And it charged all night.  So what's the deal?  Figuring that I somehow ran it down after not "turning it off" (which is ridiculous, since my cell phone lasts days on a charge), I decided to just take it home, and plug it into my computer, which I did.

Three hours later, the screen is still black. My Windows 7 computer makes the "badoink" noise if you plug it in, but no iPod shows up in devices. iTunes can't see it. And it will not turn on. So there you have it, my Apple experience lasted somewhere around 16 hours. With me sleeping all night in the middle of it. Nice. Apples are perfect! Apples don't crash!  Join the Cult of Mac, you'll never go back!  Horse pucky.
Oh, and by the way Apple fans, no the "hold" switch isn't on. Pfft. Hold switch. Make it an on/off switch!

UPDATE: After searching through an Apple trouble-shooting page online, I found several things that can be attempted to reset or restore a sick iPod.  Finally, on page 96, I found the trick that worked (here, if you're interested).  It seems to be working again. But Mr. Jobs, I am a die-hard PC, and one of your toughest converts. I am so far unimpressed.

UPDATE THE SECOND: After getting the iPod back into the world of the living, iTunes has been "syncing" it up again. For two hours. "Do not disconnect!" it tells me. For how long?