Since there are no longer separate Mac and Windows versions of the iPod, I’m wondering whether the disk format is HFS+ or FAT32?

Since there are no longer separate Mac and Windows versions of the iPod, I’m wondering whether the disk format is HFS+ or FAT32?

I would hazard to guess FAT32 since Macs can read both and Windows can’t read HFS+ without special software. I would see this as an improvement: the HFS+ format of previous Mac iPods made them less useful for data transport since most Windows machines couldn’t read the disk.

The USB compatibility of the new iPods also greatly enhances their usability for cross-platform portable data storage. The non-standard connecter is the only disappointment here; I would have preferred both USB and Firewire ports in a fashion similar to the LaCie Firewire+USB Pocket Hard Drive, or one standard Firewire plus an USB adapter. I suppose that this wouldn’t dock as nicely though.

Great point Elliot, is anyone else miffed at Apple’s removal of the FireWire port from the iPod? This translates into yet another adapter to carry around in your PowerBook bag (or worse, lose). The advantage for Apple is that they can keep updating the dock with more ports: FW400, FW800, USB2, etc. -Ed