*  They decide which programs you can and can't use on your computer

    * They decide which features of your computer or software you can use at any given moment

    * They force you to install new programs even when you don't want to (and, of course, pay for the privilege)

    * They restrict your access to certain programs and even to your own data files

    *  If your copy of Vista came with the purchase of a new computer, that copy of Vista may only be legally used on that machine, forever.

    * If you bought Vista in a retail store and installed it on a machine you already owned, you have to completely delete it on that machine before you can install it on another machine.

    * You give Microsoft the right, through programs like Windows Defender, to delete programs from your system that it decides are spyware.

    * You consent to being spied upon by Microsoft, through the “Windows Genuine Advantage” system. This system tries to identify instances of copying that Microsoft thinks are illegitimate. Unfortunately, a recent study indicated that this system has already screwed up in over 500,000 cases.

http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/microsoft-learn-from... [Apple is even worse on DRM etc.]