And now it’s getting exciting

Earlier we told you about how Apple and Norway weren’t exactly best friends.  Well, the deadline Norway’s Consumer Ombudsman set for Apple has now passed. 

Norway’s consumer mediator said Thursday he would take US electronics manufacturer Apple’s iTunes before a government agency for failing to make its online store compatible with music players other than its iPod.

“iTunes has shown a lacking will to comply with our demand and we are now preparing to try this case in the Market Council,” Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon said in a statement.

I’m not generally a betting man, but I certainly don’t like Apple’s odds of winning the case in the Market Council.

Norway: "We’re a PC" (or at least not a Mac)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway’s top consumer advocate said Monday he is taking Apple Inc. to the government’s Market Council in a test case seeking to force the American company to open its iTunes music store to digital players other than its own iPod.

Norway is leading a European campaign that began two years ago to get Apple to make its iTunes online store compatible with rivals’ digital music players.

Apple gets until November 3rd to reply but so far seems to be using the “really, we completely agree and we’re changing our practices…just ask again in a little while” method to avoid any really change.  Interestingly, it was Apple’s (erstwhile?) rival, Microsoft, that pioneered this strategy in the software industry. 

While this isn’t as exciting as news story as, say, a drunken moose, Norway could be leading the charge into making iTunes better for consumers.

And is it a coincidence that this article was also in the news today?

Microsoft bases professional search engine R&D in Norway

OSLO (AFP) — US software giant Microsoft will base its global research and development centre for specialised search engines used by companies in Norway, company chief executive Steve Ballmer said Tuesday.

Conspiracy theorists across Norway rejoice!

Also, for those who didn’t get the joke in the headline.