Given that this is only a rumour to begin with, we won't know the full extent to which the connectivity could actually restrict the console; would the console still turn on and operate as a media centre, or is your console essentially stuck at a prompt screen until you connect it to the web? I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I hate the idea that Microsoft and I will have to be in constant technological dialogue for me to potentially do anything with the console; what if I've ripped some music to my 720 hard drive or a DVD that I personally own - are Microsoft going to be scanning my files for content verification? Given that Microsoft is fast friends with numerous entertainment companies, I don't think I'm being too paranoid in thinking that Microsoft might keep tabs on our hard drives and then possibly feed back to the companies involved. While I wouldn't dare advocate piracy, and of course, if you want to store illegal files, there's plenty of places to do it, it's the principle more than anything, that Microsoft would be able to potentially peer into our hard drive at whim, and if we pull the network cable out, then we might lose access to those files.