Remember that the early iPods used FireWire, something that the vast majority of PCs at the time didn't have. If they did have a FireWire port, many had the tiny 4 pin connector without power that Sony would refer to as iLink.
There was a market for Windows users to use the iPod, you knew that because there was software out there for it. You could go down to CompUSA or Microcenter and buy a boxed piece of software for $60 or so that would do all the syncing. All you had to do was provide an iPod and FireWire. There were a lot of people (at least gadget nerds) who were really interested in the device despite the difficulty of using it unsupported. I doubt more than a handful of people purchased a Mac just for an iPod, since ~$150 in software and hardware would let you use the 1st gen with Windows.
The iPod that was released with Windows compatibility was the first one to support USB, which was a necessity in the Windows world. If they had tried to sell to Windows users with only FireWire, I think the reaction would have been pretty bad.
There was a market for Windows users to use the iPod, you knew that because there was software out there for it. You could go down to CompUSA or Microcenter and buy a boxed piece of software for $60 or so that would do all the syncing. All you had to do was provide an iPod and FireWire. There were a lot of people (at least gadget nerds) who were really interested in the device despite the difficulty of using it unsupported. I doubt more than a handful of people purchased a Mac just for an iPod, since ~$150 in software and hardware would let you use the 1st gen with Windows.
The iPod that was released with Windows compatibility was the first one to support USB, which was a necessity in the Windows world. If they had tried to sell to Windows users with only FireWire, I think the reaction would have been pretty bad.