There are multiple points you make here, some I agree with some I don't.
> Apple's patents haven't stopped me from being creative. No one has asked me not to design using rounded corners. How about you? I bet not.
Patents have stopped people from being creative. I don't think it's a matter of stopping you or me, but a more general perspetive. I'm no specialist in patents, nor is it a topic that I like talking about, but imho a critical issue is with their generality: rounded corners, mouse clicks, page turns seem like very very wide ideas.
> When you buy Apple you're not just buying hardware or software. You're buying into a ecosystem and that ecosystem works really well! Now if Apple's ecosystem doesn't suit your needs then you're still free to not use it or jailbreak your iStuff.
I do buy Apple products because they fit my needs and their current limitations are not over the threshold I feel comfortable with. Now. But ideally I'd prefer to buy into an ecosystem that is not closed. I'd like to know that in the future when a shift occurs I'll be able to get my things and move to what fits the needs I have at that time.
A related question is: should I complain or not about it if I already chose to buy into it? Me belief is that by expressing ourselves and not being complacent with the status quo we are able to influence things.