They almost certainly harvest all kinds of information about their users to help subsidize the low price of service.

A normal update does require you to unlock the phone to accept the update. They're talking about leveraging recovery mode which can be used to force load an image onto a phone that might be otherwise unusable. See here - https://support.apple.com/en-u...

Here you go. It came up about 2 years ago now - http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/30/did-airport-scanners-give-boston-tsa-agents-cancer/

How would a striker fired pistol get it's non-existent trigger snagged ?

The shuttle actually still flies hourly today (although with the same security theater and other hassles) but it now operated by US Airways - http://www.usairways.com/en-US/traveltools/intheair/shuttleinfo.html

The same story was posted last night @ 8:20 PM EST- http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/01/05/0035206/Apple-Patent-Hints-at-Net-Booting-Cloud-Strategy

So a peering disagreement somehow constitutes "blocking all streaming video" ? Enough said.

Do you have some citation to back up the assertion that Comcast has tried to block off streaming video ? I don't remember ever hearing this.

Or maybe the problem is on Netflix's end ? Your ISP can't guarantee the quality across the internet that's out of their control.

Mr. Potato Head, Mr. Potato Head ! Backdoors are NOT secrets !

This is absolutely false ! The "security clerks" at the airport with a fake badge cannot take you anywhere.

Exactly right. This sounds exactly like Northwest 255 years ago on the same type of MD-80 where the take off warning system failed to alarm when flaps were not extended - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Airlines_Flight_255

The biggest problem I see is that the service providers are requiring a data plan on all capable phones whether you want it or not. Even with a prepaid GSM phone I hear the users receive a text message informing them that a plan is mandatory. See - http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/MEdia-Net/Data-plans-on-smartphones-mandatory-as-of-Sept-6/m-p/1836215 for an example of att