EDIT 2009-03-18:
It would seem that Apple has not restricted so much as made the documentation available only to those who wish to properly license the “Made for iPod” certification mark on their products.  Assuming nobody C&Ds independent manufacturers of headphones who reverse engineer but don’t infringe on the certification mark, I’m not against this.  Sorry for the alarm.

This man is a genius.  Bravo.

I can, at times, tell the difference between audio CDs and audio files ripped from CDs.  If at all possible, I prefer to spend my money on higher quality audio that I can scale down if needed.  When I heard that “Ghosts I-IV” was available for $5 online, I was game.  When I heard I could get it in Apple Lossless along with hi-res album art, desktop backgrounds, and a PDF of “liner notes”, I knew I had to get it.  At first, the audio was secondary to supporting an individual who is demonstrating that the recording industry as it has metamorphosed into today, is not very relevant.  Like I said, Trent Reznor and I probably agree on very little politically.  But, despite what he might say about his economic beliefs, he has mastered what I believe is a VERY capitalist idea:

Provide easy access to a great product with a reasonable variety of options along with nice extras at a price that cannot be refused, and you’ll have people spending their money in droves.  Even folks who may not ordinarily spend their money on the product can be swayed to buy it.

Congratulations are in order, and even though he is not the first and certainly not the last, I can only hope that buying music moves in this direction in the future.  I’m an evil Republican Capitalist Pig, and that’s why I support Trent Reznor’s entrepreneurial venture wholeheartedly.