<Asbestos suit on>

This might seem like a stupid question, but as a new owner of an 8G iPod Touch, I see all these references to jailbreaking but little about the benefits that are gained by doing this.
I realize that it allows you to add/modify apps on the Touch, but what sort of apps are out there, and are they, for the most part, reliable/stable/safe to use?
Is there a good place to go to get a general overview of the benefits of jailbreaking for someone with little or no knowledge of it? I'm no tech newbie (I'm an IT person and a long-time Mac user) so I know this is within my abilities, I'm just not sure why or if it's something I should do....
</asbestos suit on>
Thanks,
MacDann
This might seem like a stupid question, but as a new owner of an 8G iPod Touch, I see all these references to jailbreaking but little about the benefits that are gained by doing this.
I realize that it allows you to add/modify apps on the Touch, but what sort of apps are out there, and are they, for the most part, reliable/stable/safe to use?
Is there a good place to go to get a general overview of the benefits of jailbreaking for someone with little or no knowledge of it? I'm no tech newbie (I'm an IT person and a long-time Mac user) so I know this is within my abilities, I'm just not sure why or if it's something I should do....
</asbestos suit on>
Thanks,
MacDann