Yes, it seems a twisted summary, and a confusingly written article as well, but as far as I can determine,
they're being asked to pay royalties for Microsoft patented software.

If this IS a Microsoft scheme to enforce usage of their OS, surely it'd backfire, considering the manufacturers don't want to pay royalties as it is?
I think it would encourage makers to use Open Source even further.

Certainly they shouldn't pay M$ royalties for a device that doesn't even use their technology, but the article doesn't SEEM to say that, IF the $15/per handset quoted is ONLY for ones actually using Microsoft software.

I suppose the complicating factor is using services that are require M$ technology in one way or another, even if from a Linux-based OS.

Clearly not. Being out-competed, disease, various disasters, etc, can do a species in. Of course some disasters could be considered as rapid/local/global climate change.

Me too! Having a fragile-but-necessary clip right in the position where it can break if the cable is involved in tangles or tight spaces, is dreadful design for a connector, especially for cables that are regularly removed and replugged. Connector boots help, but they can make insertion and removal difficult in tight spaces (beside other connections etc).

BTW, you can sometimes do a MacGuyver by using a piece of matchstick in place of a broken clip.

However, I think the idea of using Cat5/6 for a video/network/USB/etc cable is a great idea.

Whatever the merits of promiscuity, the TFA itself (or the research ) doesn't mention it!. Please, RTFA!

A careful reading of the summary (RTFS?) shows that:

The results add asthma to a catalog of undesirable outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, smoking, and promiscuity, tied to TV viewing."

So the evaluation of promiscuity seems to belong to the writer of the summary, or at least those they refer to.

I agree with what others have said here about correlation vs causation. There could be several explanations for the correlation, although sitting in front of the TV not exercising (and also exposing one self to household contaminants for longer) certainly seems a bad thing.