My understanding is that Apple is able to do whatever they want to their own products. They are under no obligation to support jailbreaks, Rockbox or other modi

My understanding is that Apple is able to do whatever they want to their own products. They are under no obligation to support jailbreaks, Rockbox or other modifications. Encrypting the iPod has no noticeable downside for the average user, but for a hacker, it's a pain. But Apple is under no obligation to support an alternative firmware. Making a product do something the standard setup will not allow is the whole point of the hacker space anyway, isn't it? PS: I don't agree with Apple's decision to encrypt the standard (non-touch) iPod line. I wonder if it was part of their licensing terms with movie studios.