iPod on Ubuntu *#$@#@

The last few days I've been fighting to try and get my iPod to work on Linux. There's a bunch of different software packages that I've tried to no avail. So far Amarok seems to recognize iPod and **Syncs** the best. After I synced new versions of podcasts to the iPod I check the iPod to see if they are there and I get nothing. Then I plug the iPod back in and the podcasts are supposedly on the device. I'm not sure if I should be upset at Ubuntu or Apple. Ubuntu is kind of a pain in the arse. There are tons of forums and stuff but trying to find the information pertaining to the issues I'm having kind of suck. Before you know it 4 hours have passed, and it's midnight, trying to troubleshoot an issue. I'm thinking I'd just rather have an OS that works then dealing with this crap. Maybe if I was in college where I had no problem staying up all hours into the night tinkering with computers it wouldn't be so bad.