chrono,
That website smells of a smear campaign. While it may be true that some iPod batteries wear out after 18 months -- mine has no problems afer almost 2 years -- Apple bent to the pressure and now offers a $99 battery replacement service for out-of-warranty iPods. The website you mention
conveniently neglects to mention this fact.
Here's Apple site with details of the program (requires a free AppleID login)
You can also buy replacement batteries and do it yourself for half the price, though cracking the case is a pain.
http://www.ipodbattery.com 
