I’ve long been an Apple fan. It is somewhat dissonant with my strong attachment to open-source/free software, but I’ve learned to live with it because I am significantly more productive on Mac OS than on Linux, and I still have to work with plenty of MS Office (and no, Open Office doesn’t cut it.)

That said, there’s a disturbing new trend in Apple hardware: device lock-in through DRM-like devices. I’m looking to add a monitor to my desktop Mac, and the nice 24-inch screen only connects via the new, proprietary, encrypted Apple “Display Port.” Ummm, what? And now it seems the new ipod shuffle requires headphones with a decryption chip which you’ll likely have to license from Apple.

I could live with an ipod, because I could put free music on it. I could live with an iphone, because it has a web browser, supports the IMAP open protocol, and can play free music. I could even live with buying songs from the apple store when they DRM’ed them, because I could, in a bind, burn them to a CD, and that was a rare need anyways. The DRM didn’t get in the way.

But now, it really really does. Why do I need to upgrade my Mac to get a new display? Now I’m looking for a non-Apple display. Apple, WTF? This is ridiculous. Please fix this soon, it’s probably the worst decision you’ve made in the last 10 years.