I love love love me some IFE. I recently had the luck of swapping to a United 747 in C, with the new IFE. I watched 3 movies between ORD - SFO. I was a very happy camper.
It's always disappointing to fly one of the birds that doesn't have it. I do take books and my ipod, but find myself wanting to watch something I've not watched before. Watching video on the ipod is just too small, and I read books too quickly to carry enough. I've gone through 3 books already this week on a 1 week long trip.
Looking forward to my Kindle. I hope that changes things.