My long term impression of the iPod Shuffle, in brief, is that it is a neat contraption, but the neatness eventually wears off. Though I originally liked it for easily providing a 'favorites' playlist that could include music purchased from iTunes, now I really miss the features it obviously doesn't have. I wish it had FM Radio, playlists, and a screen of some sort, all things the Rio Forge has at the same price -- only minus iTunes music. If the Rio Music Manager software is worth a rip on the Mac, well, it's likely a superior device. Not to mention it'll give you the time, play Ogg and WMA, and will hold up to 1.5 gigs of data with an expansion card. Add a camera and I'm there. ;^)