How cam'st thou in this pickle? - SHakespeare, The Tempest
Norwegian officials are apparently miffed that Apple is refusing to amend its restrictions for downloads from its iTunes jukebox.
A meeting, in Reykjavik on August 24-25, will decide whether Nordic countries will file a lawsuit against the iPod-maker.
It will also decide if the Northern countries are going to ally or take Apple individually or jointly.
An alliance would be fairly scary as it would mean that Norway, Denmark and Sweden taking on Apple in a single court case.
The only person who managed to get an alliance of these states together before was King Canute who managed to get Denmark, of Norway, parts of Sweden and England.
Apple said that it did not want to open its iTunes downloads to rival portable players that cannot play music recorded in the iTunes digital format.
It is just as well that Cupertino is not close to the sea, otherwise there would be a fleet of dragon ships off-shore with a horde of Nordic consumer regulators aiming to try out the ancient rite of the Blood Eagle on Steve Jobs.
More at Business Week . µ