If you're not in the U.S., putting your data under U.S. jurisdiction *can* be an unacceptable risk.

Protections for non-citizens, non-residents are pretty slim.

Microsoft *does* have controls. They support your point though. Microsoft designed the controls to prevent wholesale counterfeiting, not private piracy.

I thought that too.. in 1995.

Overt use of power is less frightening than unchecked covert abuse of surveillance equipment.

source?

This is not a problem which can be solved with a shopping trip.

Bicycle mirrors either get damaged in bicycle racks or stolen. Mirrors that are compact and durable are too small to be seen while riding on bumpy under-maintained city streets. Helmet mirrors are great for long trips, but too fragile for daily commuting.

As a cyclist, I've grown used to not trusting my ears. Silent cars were the first problem, but now e-bikes are very common, often overtake within inches and don't ring their bells. I look more carefully now. Just because I don't hear a vehicle doesn't mean that somebody isn't inches from me.

You just haven't experienced it yet. Hybrids also have more efficient and quieter tires.

It's bad on a bicycle at speed too. You shoulder check and *woah*, there's a car two meters from your back wheel.

Once the car is going past 50kph, I don't see any point in these sounds, but maybe there's a reason I haven't thought of.

Most people on BBSes were in the local calling range. Most people on Slashdot, I'll never meet. Ever.

I miss BBSes too.

There were plenty of paid ones.

Free for 30 minutes, pay for more access. Pay for file access and doors.

Telephone lines weren't free, and multitasking hardware was expensive too. There were lots which had access to echomail and basic doors access for free.

When you didn't have money, the trick was to have a giant list of telephone numbers on the wall so that you could program them all in your autodialer, then go read a book or something until one of the lines rang through to a modem. Then you could spend a night on a half dozen different boards.

If I were an oppressive government, I'd use the additional information about the person posting the questions to bias the discussion. e.g., their age and gender, where they're from, where they grew up, who their friends are, whether or not they're politically active and their political bent. I'd also discard questions from people without a reasonable circle of friends (they're probably fake).

If I were the TSA and had random far-reaching powers, I might start using Facebook to find out who my enemies are, who's speaking out against me and where that social meme originated. It's a handy database.

This is a dangerous precedent for so many reasons.