It's really not that hard to opt out. The search is just a default program, and you can replace it with whatever you want, like Classic Shell.

You could argue as others have that there should be a default search which is local only, but why is it so important that everyone uses Microsoft's default programs rather than the millions of third party programs available? There seems to be a double standard where people say that it's important that Microsoft not push its own software over alternatives but also that Microsoft's default programs should fit every need of every user.

There's plenty that Microsoft does wrong, but providing a search that uses their search engine while allowing users to install whatever search they like is not so bad. You are already contacting their servers for updates and other things. Having to install an alternative search is really no worse than having to install a web browser. Now you might say that the menu is basic functionality but the browser is not, but what's really the difference?

The issue I see with it is transparency about it. If an user updates from Win7/8 who didn't have this explicit functionality, it doesn't know that it sends the queries online, nor is he immediately shown how to easily opt-out. I mean, where's a section in Control panel that's titled "Windows 7/Classic mode" ? FFS, I'd pay for that Service pack or edition.

At least now we know why they're offering the update for free.

It says "Search Windows and the web" right on the search box and displays web results. You don't have to pay for an alternative. When Windows 8 came out 3 years ago, lots of alternative start menus became available. If you haven't found out about them in that time, you probably don't care, but maybe they could be featured in the Windows Store or something like that under customization.