We've got both-a G3 800Mhz iBook and an iPod. The iBook, which we've had for about 8 months, worked fine until one day-poof. Nothing. Took it back to the Apple store, and they fixed it under warranty, putting in a new logic board. They had to ship it to Memphis, and it took about 5 days. I was impressed with the quick turnaround time, and my wife just loves the iBook. I've had the iPod since October. I've got ALL of our CD's on it, so anywhere we go, we can take our music collection with us. Pretty neat. I wish my car stereo had a jack to plug it in, like some after market car stereos do. The FM transmitter is nice, but there's better sound with a direct hookup. I've heard about the battery problem, that it dies after about 18 months. Apparently, Apple has a replacement program, for $99.00. I guess that's reasonable. All in all, we have no regrets about either the iPod orthe iBook. There will always be people who are surprised when electronic things don't work, like those petition signers that you mentioned. I figure, as long as Apple is willing to stand behind the product, it's worth it.
There's my two cent's worth! Sorry if I got a little wordy.