| About the iPod, there are "invisible" folders that the iPod software uses which is needed to play the music on the go. This is where iTunes put the music, and the hacks let you see these folders (and all have weird ways of showing the folders to you).
The iPod also has a FireWire harddisk function, allowing you to use the remaining space as any external harddisk. Doing this you can drag any files, including mp3/acc files, to the harddisk of any Mac, however, without a nearby computer you can't get to that music (play it on the iPod).
When you dragged it fine by default at the Apple Store, that was the harddisk function. To use both this any be able to play the music on the bus, you'll have to have duplicate files, one for iTunes and one for the Macs. The hacks let you use just one.
Now, for what's probably the easiest question, will you be able to play the music straight off the iPod without copying anything? Yes. When you've added music to the iPod via iTunes (the way it was made to be used), and plug the iPod into another Mac, iTunes on that Mac will let you play, but not copy, all the music on your iPod.  |