How France Is Saving Civilization
Wired News Commentary by Leander Kahney

But French legislators aren't just looking at Apple. They're looking ahead to a time when most entertainment is online, a shift with profound consequences for consumers and culture in general. French lawmakers want to protect the consumer from one or two companies holding the keys to all of its culture, just as Microsoft holds the keys to today's desktop computers.

Many Apple fans have been deriding the bill in France aimed at forcing digital music files to be played on any hardware device. But as Leander points out, if Microsoft held the position in digital music that Apple currently does, those same fans would be complaining to high heaven. They also seem to forget that it would force online stores selling protected Windows Media Audio files to be compatible with the iPod and Macs. Hmmm, that would give Apple competition, and they'd have to respond by making a stronger case to consumers: higher quality files? subscription option? more freebies?

Of course, we also have to consider where this train of thought could take us: Should all blades be legally obligated to work on every razor? Should XBox games be legally compelled to run on a Playstation 2?