Incidentally, using MP3 would also mean having to pay licensing/patent fees because MP3 isn't a free codec standard. And yet, people still use that, and can use it to move between software/hardware.
Also, your (nanaholic) argument is predicated on the idea that if you have something in a non-free format (e.g., ALAC), you are locked into that format - which is obviously untrue, as it's entirely possible to move between formats (as I would know from first-hand experience, having gone from CD -> .m4a when I used an iPod -> .flac once I stopped using an iPod and started using a J3), and with relative ease.
-- Griffinhart