every weekend I plug in my ipod shuffle(1st gen) and add new podcasts. Last night after plugging it in, I got the immediate warning that I had disconnected it and data may have been lost(you know the scary message). I unplugged it and tried again, and now my shuffle is not recognized(on both of my computers)...I think it is officially dead

The computers don't see it anymore, but the podcasts on there right now I can listen to...
The weird thing is that I couldn't quit itunes at all. I tried via the dock, the menu bar, and activity monitor as well as terminal. It was listed in the force quit list, but not in activity monitor, or in terminal via 'top'. As I couldn't get the PID, the only way to quit itunes was to logout. That worked... Any idea what the heck happened?? Other than the dead ipod...