Cory is Pissed at Apple (Again)

So once again an iTunes update has sent Cory into a tizzy. It's understandable though. I worked at EFF during the rollout of the iTMS, so I know all the arguments. Cory even went so far as to pre-rebut the two most common replies he gets to these stories.

• Apple didn't have any choice. If they don't play nice with the suicidally stupid record industry, the industry will stop supplying music for the iPod.
• Just don't run the update.

But as I started thinking, I came up with some other questions for Cory, which may or may not be valid.

• If you currently own an iPod, should you stop using it in protest? Granted, this is more a personal question than a technical one. But still...
• Does this update break one third party app or all of them? I've used iPodRip for shuffling around my tunes between computers.
• At what point do you stop buying any and all Apple products because of this behavior? Would this teach the industry a lesson? Would it teach Apple a lesson?
• If you own Apple stock at what point do you sell in protest?
• What products do you support in Apple's place? If none, what actions do you support (besides the obvious of joining EFF)?

Again, I agree with Cory on general principle and these questions are not meant to attack his position on this subject. DRM is bad for customers and generally a waste of money for companies. As an AAPL shareholder, I don't want Apple pissing off customers or wasting money. But as an AAPL shareholder I don't want Apple playing with one arm tied behind it's back either.

Now that the iPod has shown, beyond any reasonable doubt, that it is not a flash in the pan, can Apple play hardball with the industry? Does the industry still maintain the upper hand or only the illusion of the upper hand? It seems to me that the business solutions to our objections to DRM are all non-trivial due to many factors, even if we consider most of them to be bogus.