Nikon has responded to the D2x-encrypted-white balance debacle with this press release. (Strangely, I couldn't find the original reference to the press release on Nikon's site, or elsewhere, only secondary references, so perhaps Nikon's not too keen on this really being a public matter).

Their basic argument is you should be using Nikon Capture, the rest of the text is as thick a smokescreen as you're likely to encounter anytime soon. The tenor of the release beneath all the nonsense makes for interesting reading. There seems to be culture which is stating that because the format is proprietary they should have a say in how others are using it, and this is to the photographer's benefit; they seem to want to justify matters by arguing the encryption 'secures the structure' which I'm not quite sure what that might legitimately mean (although I can imagine severals things that it might be claimed to mean); and there's a 'well there is a SDK available', which isn't the answer that is useful to me. Strange place, Nikonland.

Read here for plenty of discussion, ranting and the usual internet explosions.

Update:here's a different set of comments, which are a little more balanced, and less obviously pro-photoshop. Some people like Nikon Capture although most of them complain about its speed. Canon's software on the other is so slow that I have never considered it, regardless of quality. Perhaps I should spend a little time with all of these different RAW converters.