sleek grotto
For those who have tried or are currently running iTunes on Linux, how are you finding the experience? And what method are you using to run iTunes? (Wine, Bottles, WinBoat etc)
I've been meaning to make the switch to Linux on my main machine this year and initially I thought I'd be fine without iTunes, until realising I still need it when it comes to formatting iPods for Rockbox (or if I wanted to keep the stock OS on some iPods). 
jaunty rampart
You can use fdisk and dd to restore ipod firmware manually, I wouldnt recommend it though as it has the ability to nuke your other partitions if you're not careful.
as for syncing with retail os, there are a couple of plugins for different media players on linux, or just drag and drop in disk mode if using rockbox.
sleek grotto
I might potentially format the iPod with iTunes just in case before installing Rockbox onto it
Though thank you for reminding me about fdisk and dd! I’ll give it some thought once the microSDs come in the mail
jaunty rampart