Adding a write-protect jumper only costs a few cents.
And if you want to keep the convenience of downloadable upgrades, don't install the jumper.
Sure, only a few percent of us would buy a motherboard because the BIOS had the option to add a write protect jumper, but that's still a few percent more sales.
Plus it's a marketable difference - if you've got it and your competitors don't, then you can use scare tactics;
"Unlike our competitors, we care about your computer's health, that's why all our motherboards have physical protections against viruses."

If you could get 1 Mbps for $10, 5 Mbps for $15, 20 Mbps for $20, 100 Mbps for $40 or 1,000 Mbps for $80, which would you pick?

Personally, I'd go with the $20 for 20Mbps option. I like speed, but I also like money.

Computers roughly double in power every two years.
That means every two years, malware can be twice as destructive.
Security constantly improves, but it doesn't improve as fast.

Measured as a percentage, the amount of damage being done will go down.
Measured as an absolute, the amount of damage will go up.

Err - no.

That number on the Digikey page isn't lumens per watt (I've no idea what unit mw/W is supposed to be).

If you look at the datasheet that LED is a max of 139 lumens with a forward voltage drop of 2.9 at 350 mA, or slightly less than 140 lumens per watt (under ideal conditions).

By definition there are 683 lumens per watt of radiant power at a wavelength of 555 nm.

The highest announced efficiency LED to date is "only" 303 lumens per watt - http://cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2014/March/300LPW-LED-barrier
303/683 = 0.44 or 44%

The best LED I can actually buy is still under 200 lumens per watt, less than 30%

The 4flow, which is pretty close to the best consumer LED light bulb you can get is only 85 lumens per watt.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-60W-Equivalent-Soft-White-2700K-A19-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-with-4Flow-Filament-Design-BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-3U100/205597078

All much better (efficacy) than a CFL or incandescent, but no where near 48%

Anyone know what the maximum size of a quantum dot is?
Could they make ones that emit microwaves, or even radio?

I couldn't agree more, giving people a choice always ends badly.
In particular, people should be prevented from saying no just because they find their partner "undesirable".
Perhaps we can institute a lottery to force people to have sex with "ugly" people.

What for, exactly?
I mean, passwords protect data.
Is customs afraid of data?
Is there some dangerous piece of information that must be stopped from entering the country?

If your police force is afraid of people keeping secrets, then your police force needs to be disbanded.

I want my communications to be as secure as technically feasible.

If it's a choice between hobbling my security or hobbling the NSA, I pick hobbling the NSA.

By far the most useful extensions are the ones that reduce my "browsing experience"
Things which prevent things from being pushed at me (NoScript, AdBlock)
Things which allow me watch videos at my pace and choice of quality instead of "streaming". (youtube downloader)
And in general things which reduce the number of features I'm forced to contend with.

Lottery tickets are a rip off.
Fake Lottery tickets are a scam, even if they are half price.

1 compressed movie is about the same space as 200 compressed songs.
If it takes you about 20 seconds to download a song, then it takes you about 1 hour to download a movie.

Movies could be an order of magnitude less "popular" than music and still appear an order of magnitude more "often".

Picking an arbitrary list of 10 "top of the pop" songs,
youtube-dl reports that one is "only" 128kbps @ 44,100 Hz, and the other nine are available at 256kbps @ 44,100 Hz.

You may not accept that as "HD", but it takes a truly warped view of the world to claim it isn't "decent".

More to the point, the difference in quality between what you get from Youtube and the Pirate Bay is almost nil.
I.e. it may well be crap, but it isn't youtube's fault that it's crap.

Truck drivers get over $40k a year, and they don't drive 24/7.
I'd bet a trucking company would pay a lot for a driver-less truck, even if it could only travel a few routes.

Minor quibble - instead of water, you send hydrogen, only takes 1/8 of a tonne.

Are you really trying to claim that;
a. The only possible way to reduce the dynamic range on a vinyl record is to reduce duration, and
b. No one would ever sacrifice duration to make things louder?
I take issue with both statements.