Todd Dominey, who happens to be a web designer, has done a much better job of explaining the long term implications of the HP/Apple IPod deal than most of the media and their gushing reports.

bq. Apple’s alliance with HP is not just a victory for each company (each will reap millions from it), but for the general marketplace. By further cementing AAC, untold numbers of devices could flood the marketplace and offer consumers a true choice in what they buy. For an example of what happens when one company holds the purse strings, all you have to do is look at Internet Explorer, which is used by the vast majority of internet users, but faces little competition thanks to tight integration into the Windows OS. And as a result, Microsoft sees little reason to improve the product, and the web stagnates on a browser that is now four years old.

Of course a lot of us forget that in the end it is all about the consumer. Apple-IPOD is a superior consumer product compared to the me-too products flooding the market place.