my ipod will not turn on! the battery went dead, so i plugged it up to my computer to charge it, and NOTHING is coming up! please help

If the battery is completely dead, it may need to be left plugged in for 30-60 minutes before it will have enough charge to turn back on. Usually nothing will show up on the screen, or it will just show a charging screen until it has enough power.

And if after leaving it plugged in it still won't come up, follow the steps described here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61705

I've had to do this with both my 80GB iPod and my 8GB iPod Nano. The procedure is essentially a hard reset on the iPod.

it happened to me once ... let it charge, then reset it ... (play + center)

sacrifice two chickens at the next full moon and promise to buy and AppleTV.

Worked for me. That and a hard reset.