WSJ.com - Music Rivals Propose a Combo, Apple Doesn't Want to Hear It

WSJ.com - Music Rivals Propose a Combo, Apple Doesn't Want to Hear It: "As Apple Computer Inc.'s position in the digital-music market grows more dominant, Chief Executive Steve Jobs has made one point increasingly clear: He doesn't intend to share the wealth with his competitors.
For months, RealNetworks Inc., Musicmatch Inc. and Microsoft Corp., among others, have been publicly calling for Apple to make changes in its key music products, including the hot iPod portable music player, so that they work with music-download sites other than Apple's own iTunes Music Store. For now, Apple effectively has a closed system: The only portable device on which songs purchased on iTunes can be played is the iPod, and the only online music site that the iPod works with is iTunes."

You'd think Jobs might understand the consequences of closed systems, by this point...