yeah, this is an older thread, but I found this searching and thought I could add something for others who stumble upon this thread:
gave my daughter an ipod for Christmas. The included firewire cable connects to 6-pin port on computer, but her HP laptop has the 4-pin plugin. Made the round of several computer stores, couldn't find a 4-pin to 6-pin adapter anywhere. Finally, ordered a 4-pin male to 6-pin female adapter from Outpost. "Only" cost $14 after shipping is added it! What a rip-off! Maybe HP laptops have a unique firewire port, but I doubt it. Apple should have included the adapter at no cost, or made sure it is available whereever the iPod is sold.
(And, to top it off, after installing a 6-pin Firewire port in my desktop just so she could check it out while we wait for the adapter from Outpost, her iPod is DOA! The connector port only makes sporadic contact. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Returned it to Amazon, but replacement units are not in stock!)