i have been using E2C's for over 2 years now. I have not experienced the pain David did. As Mark pointed out, the audio reproduction is good, not great, but these headphone stand out in their sound isolation capabilities. They make listening to an ipod through all the noise of NYC far more enjoyable.
i tried apple's in-ear headphones, but they did would not stay in my ear (after trying all the available sizes).
while I agree that .Mac in it's current incarnation is not a success, i disagree that Apple should be trying to seriously compete in the web services space. Apple is a hardware company that makes great media software for their hardware. There are enough companies, far more nimble and innovative than Apple, working to dismantle the Microsoft monopoly. As long as Apple continues to make hardware people want to use that run these services (along with Apple's own elegant media software suite), they will continue to grow their market share in the computer hardware space.
However, Apple should be looking at the home entertainment technology space. It's a very complex space right now that makes true computer/Media center integration impossible for no-techies. It's the perfect space for Apple to dominate. They did it with computers with the Mac, and with digital audio with ipod/itunes.
A Pain in the Ear
Why Apple Needs the Web 2.0 Revolution