[spion]

Thats precisely my point, its not universal. They only change their service (e.g. google docs). The other services you use remain unaffected.

Its not a weak and inflammatory argument to call Windows Update a backdoor. If push comes to shove and its very profitable for MS (or they're threatened by the NSA, or any other "really good" reason), they can and very likely will automatically install something on your system that you don't want. Or replace the default search engine with Bing. Or uninstall something. Or make your machine unusable.

We've already seen mild examples of this (see U2's album)

SaaS (especially web-based) doesn't have that kind of power over your machine (or over other services you use)

[Xenmen]

Yes, 'universal within the defined scope'. Everything within that service.

Microsoft Windows doesn't have a backdoor to data on your android phone, but its backdoor is still universal within the scope of your your Windows installation'. Do you have a more appropriate term he could've used? I'm not familiar with one offhand, if you know one I'd appreciate you sharing it.

[spion]

How about just "backdoor" then. "Within a defined scope" != "applicable to all cases" which is the definition of universal. Precise, honest wording is important.