For those who are using debian and more so ubuntu then you may have trouble like I did with using the ipod nano and possibly other versions of the ipod
The problem is the ipod is detected on the system which can be confirmed with a lsusb command. To fix the problem you need to update your system in order for it to detect the ipod and properly mount it as a file system
Download the nano.tar.gz file and uncompress it to extract the *.deb files contained within it. Go into the folder/directory you extracted the files into within the terminal program and execute dpkg -i *.deb. As well install any dependancies that might come up with installing those files. I didnt have any but I know some systems arent as up to date as mine.
Once installed reboot your computer and plug in your ipod. It should be detected and mounted at this point. I use gtkpod to modify the files on my ipod but there are several usefull apps that will help do the job.
Hopefully that cures the problems with these ipods for good
