well i just think if the firmware was bad then it wouldn't work on his laptop either.
not a pissing contest, just pissed in general at how common this problem is for a retail device. It should be a non-issue, but you can pull up dozens and dozens of websites on this same problem. All of them say pretty much verbatim what apple says, but I just use a different cable and "oh lookie there, it works perfectly" which just basically ruins the credibility of the troubleshooting advice that apple dispenses "to me" anyway.
I could be wrong, who knows.
oh I guess I forgot to mention the ipod I bought, the earbuds that came with it were folded (yes folded the wires 180 degrees back on itself or as close as possible) and one of the folds had a split in the tubing. Minor cosmetic scuff really, but the sliding rubber piece that you move to the end of the cord to keep the earbuds from becoming crazy tangled when you wrap them around the ipod to toss in your pocket for a while when you arent using it has rubbed that scuff to the point of stripping the tubing and exposing the actual wiring.
this also is an example that leads me to believe that apple just kind of sucks at this whole "wires" thing.
not trying to piss in anyone's cheerios, just heated about my experience.
I'll bet i'm probably wrong on whats wrong with this guy's ipod but oh well. at least I will have the "alternative" view point when it comes to how to solve issues with this thing when 90% of the google results will give you pretty much the same runaround in fixing this criminally common issue.