Microsoft is doing the same thing as Apple with their iPhone and geeks get upset. Apple is not allowing arbitrary OS to run on their system unless you find an security hole and manage to work around the protection. I don't hear claims that Apple is having an uncompetitive behavior but obviously the difference is that they didn't take that away, iPhones have been locked down from day one.
That said, I'm very much in the geeks' camp. "Secure Boot" doesn't really protect the end-user, viruses and trojan mostly operate in the user-space and exploit kernel security holes anyways. This term is misleading, what it secures is Microsoft's position, letting them dictate whatever they want to manufacturers.
Many of us do dislike that Apple lock their hardware down. So I vote with my wallet and buy less locked down devices. The concern is that it will become increasingly difficult to find a computer that does not include this behaviour.
Apple's notebooks and desktops are the opposite of locked down. You want to install another OS on it? They even provide the Boot Camp tool to make it easy for you.
Want to scrub the system and start from scratch? Use rEFIt (http://refit.sourceforge.net) and replace the loader.
The probable reason the iOS devices are locked down is because that's where Apple's money is now.
If Apple encouraged jail-breaking that would dramatically alter the nature of their product line-up. If the jail-broken phones developed a reputation for crashing, for apps not working properly, or for being a vehicle for rampant piracy, that would taint their brand.
It's a tough position they're put in. As an enthusiast I'd really like to see the iOS hardware sold without locks, specifically for hacking, but Apple isn't interested in that market.
The good news is that whatever Apple pushes hard, be it iPads or iPhones or iPods, puts enormous pressure on the supply channel to deliver parts at scale. Where touch-screen panels used to be stupidly expensive, you can buy them for under $50 from many vendors.
Like an ice-breaker, Apple's enormous volume causes the price of components to plunge across the board. Everything they touch becomes commoditized in time. This is good for consumers, they get better products from third parties, and amazing for hardware hackers that want to build or customize their own gear. Want a quad-core ARM CPU? It's a couple of bucks. Think about that.
You can get an OEM tablet from some random vendor in China that's as good as an iPad 2 hardware-wise, and you can get them cheap. For a little extra, you can get them customized. This is not a bad thing.
Apple will keep their hardware locked down, it's their call, but it opens up enormous opportunities in the open-hardware arena.
> Apple is not allowing arbitrary OS to run on their system
Microsoft is not allowing arbitrary OSs to run on Dell's, Acer's, Lenovo's and Toshiba's hardware. If Microsoft wants to limit what Microsoft hardware can do, I'm fine with it - I just won't buy from them.
I think the point I was trying to make is that once Microsoft takes over the last commoditized land of unlocked hardware, buying a specialist's computer is going to be more expensive.
That said, I'm very much in the geeks' camp. "Secure Boot" doesn't really protect the end-user, viruses and trojan mostly operate in the user-space and exploit kernel security holes anyways. This term is misleading, what it secures is Microsoft's position, letting them dictate whatever they want to manufacturers.