Boomer, I don't think you are an idiot. You are just like most of the rest of us, slaves to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, with not much hope of ever gaining our freedom. In fact, I had just completed this post and thought I had hit backspace, when evidently I must have hit enter and it all went into neutron heaven. That aside, now that I have retyped it, I suggest you cut and paste the following link into your browser:
http://www.tansee.com/ipodtransfer.html
I have no idea if this "free" Tansee software will work, but the description says it will transfer IPOD songs into your hard drive. Sometimes "free" software only gives you the basic package, and if you want the whole enchalada, you have to come up with cash. I don't know anything about this particular package, but I wish you good luck, and hope that the software works.
Collie