My iPod Touch is Sad

For about a week now, my iPod touch (1st generation, iOS 3.1.3) has been acting funny.  When I plug it in to my MacBook (OS X 10.6.5), iTunes (10.1, 54) does not recognize the device, the wireless signal indicator does not show at all, the battery meter is incorrect, the audio pauses randomly, and I cannot turn off the device (by holding down the sleep button for 10 seconds and then sliding the "Slide to power off" control). I am able to force a power off by holding down the sleep button and the home button simultaneously for about 10 seconds. After a manual power down, things are normal again, but revert to the same weirdness after a few hours. Apparently there are others who are having the same problem. Any ideas?

UPDATE (11/28/10): Ever since I uninstalled the TGI Black Friday app from my iPod touch, things are back to normal now. Very strange. Anyone else have this problem?

SugarSync Now Offering Free 5GB of Online Storage

I've been using the online backup and folder synchronization app SugarSync for a couple of months now ever since Windows Live Sync/Mesh went through its identity crisis. SugarSync absolutely rocks! With support for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and more, I've found SugarSync to be the fastest, most reliable, feature-rich and useful online backup and synchronization service. What I love about SugarSync is that you select which folders you want to backup and decide which devices you want to sync those folders on. It backs up your data to the cloud and synchronizes the folders you chose between machines. SugarSync also lets you share individual files with other users and lets you know when files have been downloaded, etc. SugarSync offers 5GB for free, but I subscribe to the 30GB plan for $49/year, which I feel is worth every penny.  When compared with other similar online services such as Carbonite, Box.net, Dropbox, SpiderOak, and others, SugarSync has the competition beat in terms of pricing and features.