Could iTunes wind up being compatible with Microsoft? It's certainly possible, with US legislators currently debating whether Apple should be forced to make its product work with Microsoft technology.
A plan is being considered whereby music protected by proprietary digital rights management (DRM) technology, such as Apple's FairPlay, would be outlawed. iTunes downloads could then be played on Microsoft digital music players.
However, industry representatives are none too keen on the idea at all, and claim that interoperability will eventually be promoted without any government intervention.
"It is my belief, and the essential point of my participation today, that marketplace forces will continue to drive innovation in the DRM arena with attendant consumer benefits - new ways to enjoy digital music at a variety of different price points - while also gradually 'solving' the interoperability problem." - William Pence, Napster CTO.