I disagree slightly on the Apple-dictates-DRM point. How exactly does iTunes DRM help Apple?

It locks other mp3 players out of playing music bought from the iTunes store. This rocks for Apple (or did, back when anybody gave a shit about anything but the iPod) but I don't think they're going to do any better with the iPod than they already are, so this shouldn't be a concern for them anymore. DRM also gave Apple what it wanted in the first place -- the first serious entry into the online music market. The music publishers were (and still are) extremely paranoid about piracy, and wouldn't allow online music sales without a pretty good guarantee that their IP rights would be safe -- which Apple gave them. So DRM gave Apple entry into the market.

But in the three or four or whatever years since the iTunes music store opened, things have changed. Now there's eMusic and whatnot who don't have nearly the catalog of iTunes, but sell their music DRM-free and more cheaply. By being locked into their DRM by music publisher contracts, Apple is being forced to sell an inferior product for more, something that isn't going to help them maintain their market share. Of course Steve Jobs wants to get rid of DRM, it fucks Apple and makes them look bad. Admittedly, his written rhetoric is appealing directly to the anti-DRM masses instead of telling the bare truth: DRM is hurting Apple's bottom line in the long run. It's somewhat fair to call that insincere, but I still think he and Apple really want to sell DRM-free music.