We Owe Apple 10% of This Post

Yes, those who wish to have the "broken windows" logo pay each year (around $1K) for the privilege just so they can be included in the Microsoft Software Directory. And include it on their boxes. There is a certification process as well that starts at around $3K and goes up, so the 3rd-party certifiers can verify source code as being compatible with the varied MS OSs. (i.e. works with XP Pro) We looked into it 2 years ago for a software company I work for. Dropped it when we realized Microsoft would have full access to our source code as part of the deal.

but do developers have to pay to use "approved for Windoze" or "plays for sure" stickers?

Or, like the "approved for Windoze" or whatever those dang MS stickers say, vendors can see this as a way to improve sales by implying some greater compatibility than those items w/o the sticker. In which case, they'd be happy to pay the premium.

So lets see, vendors can make stuff that works with the iPod and take all the profits, or they can get this little sticker and give part of the profits to Apple? Guess Apple doesn't want anyone using this sticker.