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Personally, I think all the quibbling in this thread over what's right/legal and what's wrong/illegal is a waste of energy. We all choose what laws to follow and what laws to break - whether we know it or not. The real question is possibility.
If I have a pbook (purchased or borrowed), the publisher and author and everyone else involved already know they've lost control of that individual volume. If I scan it or photocopy it, they will never know unless I do something stupid and public with it. That may change in future. Microdots are handy things, for instance, as are individual serial numbers or microprint. But the possibility of being busted for it is small at this time.
If I have an ebook (purchased or borrowed), the fact that it is an electronic medium and must be read on an electronic device makes it much easier for it to be tracked. If I want to purchase or borrow an ebook, strip the DRM, and read it on a competitor's device, I may eventually have to consider if there's a way for it to "phone home", i.e. inform the ereader manufacturer or anyone else who cares that this has happened. Right now, the possibility of it is small unless, again, I do something stupid and public with it. Just removing DRM does not affect the author or publisher or even the ereader manufacturer.
As for keeping an ereader on airplane mode to prevent updates or whatever: all they need to do is add an internal timer to turn it back on.
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