Apple has every right to guard their monopoly, as does Adobe. I just hope that Adobe announces very soon that they're going to stop developing Creative Suite for Macs, and watch the Windows-only CS6 force Mac users into buying PCs. Then Apple will either have to develop their own version of CS, or go to Microsoft to buy their creative apps. That will indeed signal the end times.

I've heard this same issue come up from two different bio researchers - one doing post-doc work (French), and the other finishing his PhD (American) here in the US. They both related the same 'joke' about Chinese research, something like, "A non-PRC scientist approaches science to seek a result...a PRC-trained/educated scientist asks, "What result do you want to see?" Faking data is rampant among the Chinese students here in the US according to them, so much so that the non-Chinese are being passed over for grants here because they're shackled by such pesky things as 'ethics' and the scientific method. Afterward, when the grant donors see results blow up in their faces when reviewed by peers, they're usually too chagrined to make an issue out of it, having been made thorough fools of.

...that they called and told me that I had a zombie PC. I run updates, antivirus software and am very careful about where I go on the web, and what I download. Despite all my precautions, though, my PC got infected via an infected CD from my office (autorun is now turned off, btw). I got a call from Comcast saying that they'd noticed some odd traffic. The tech guy said it looked like my PC had been infected although it didn't seem to be actively sending/receiving any unusual data. After a quick re-scan with my antivirus software, it was gone, and all was right with the world (well, my tiny corner of it, anyway). I was used to Comcast sucking hardcore before this happened. Now my attitude is a little better toward them -- the Comcast tech guy knew his stuff, and was very helpful.

If a designer signs a "work for hire" contract, then anything created under that contract belong to the client, not the designer, true. It's one of the main reasons designers refuse "work for hire" terms. [Another being that usually the WFH language usually explicitly denies me the right to use MY designs in MY OWN portfolio...uh, no thanks.]

Under non "work for hire" terms, if you hire me to design it, I'm only contractually bound to give you the finished work. All IP remains with me, the designer, until you pay me for the IP.

You might find it an "interesting" business model, but it protects the interests of those who use their creative skills to make clients money (in this case a /buttload/ of money). I never sign my IP away unless clients are willing to compensate me for it, and I never, ever, EVER sign contracts with WFH terms. Why should I?