"Think for a moment about what your reaction would be if Microsoft made the Zune the only MP3 player compatible with Windows" iTunes isn't, and has never been,

"Think for a moment about what your reaction would be if Microsoft made the Zune the only MP3 player compatible with Windows" iTunes isn't, and has never been, a platform open to third parties. It's a software accessory to the iPod hardware. This may have been a valid argument when DRM was still prevalent on iTunes but these days that is not a factor locking people into iTunes. The iTunes database format is basically just XML. Easily accessible by other applications that want to make the migration to an iTunes alternative easier or an application that simply wants to build off the iTunes database. This is exactly how the BlackBerry media syncing software works. On a broader note I would say anyone who does have a major problem with the 5 issues cited in this article should definitely look for another platform instead of constantly whining about it. It's not like it's all that hard to do. With a few small exceptions it probably takes a couple hours to fully migrate to non-Apple products & services. I guess that's why these Apple whines annoy me. It's very easy to switch if it really bothers you. I feel like the authors of these articles are making a big deal out of something that almost no one really cares about. The media loves the build-em-up, cut-em-down cycle and this seems like another example of it. It's good for page views, no doubt. When I see a real number of people switching to alternative platforms I'll believe it's really an important issue. FYI Microsoft does not offer Zune software for OSX or Linux.