I suspect, should Google follow through, the French would turn from traditional media to Twitter and aggregators in such numbers and with such persistence as to gravely damage traditional media's prospects.

As people embrace specialization, and the knowledge silos that come with it, no one is left with a broader comprehension of how the pieces fit together. In an infected system, a malignancy can easily spiral out of control with no one the wiser. Take global warming, for example. A basic knowledge of chemistry and the work of John Tyndall 150 years ago provides the most elementary demonstration of how human activities have to be contributing to environmental warming. Should we have economists steering our economy who have no understanding of the relationships between chemistry, our lives, our planet, our very existence?

A good deal of what is lacking in the Libertarian manifesto involves a failure to properly appreciate the finer qualities of applied cynicism. Here, you have an object lesson.

... China's version of the "47 percent", no doubt.

It makes sense to codify a standard for expressing the choice; it makes less sense to impose a default setting for the choice. However, if Microsoft is a signatory to a standard demanding such a default, they would seem beholden to adhere to it. If they are not a signatory, or perhaps if they became a signatory with a stated objection to the default, they would seem within their rights to assign their own default based on their interpretation of customer benefit.

... only company authorized personnel can pretend to provide tech support?

The nature of public security requires liability for failure. The reason the corporate legal structure exits is to diminish liability. As long as grasping shareholders can wash their hands while lining their pockets providing an inferior service through corrupt minions, many corporations will. The defence industry is another case in point.

... Part Deux.

... handguns without safeties.

Support for many kinds of products has all but evaporated in recent times. Whether in the form of software documentation, product warranties, or parts availability, the trend is trim any function or service that doesn't generate a direct profit. We are encouraged to think of products as black boxes, and when they don't work, well just don't hold it that way.

... before it, Canonical seems to have difficulty wrapping their collective heads, as well as that of their resident big head, around the concept of "opt in".

"The browser is the OS," ring any bells?

Since Kubuntu is now a "community project", it shouldn't be beholden to the mercenary caprice of Canonical. One real draw to Ubuntu is the repositories and PPAs. Hopefully, Kubuntu can provide that without the marketing troll.

... where is all this going to sit when you build your new computer on your printer?

Actually, to put a finer point on it, I was pointing to the fact that current technology applied to the market is an Atlas rocket strapped to a horse cart. But, hey, what could go wrong?