Re: hoops, jumping through
Those “hoops” were the price Apple and we have to pay to have the rights to purchase digital music. They were not Apple’s dictate, they were they requirements of those who OWNED the copyrights to the music. Without those restrictions there would be no iTunes Store and no legally downloadable popular music. It has taken Apple over five years to get the music publishers to agree to loosen the restrictions.
Strange that there are several Legal MP3 players on the market that have none of the hoops Apple iPod wants one to jump through.