the_flinstoned

The author addressed that exact point explicitly near the end of the article; you may want to reread.

The Wacom data collection program is OPTIONAL. Mr. Heaton buries this in his rant in the second to last paragraph.

Any professional digital artist (especially 3d) will tell you they use multiple pieces of software and that many benefits from having the tablet buttons assigned differently to facilitate efficiency as an artist. This is (probably) why Wacom products track the software you're using.

Finally, "Being a mostly-normal person I never usually read privacy policies." - Robert Heaton

Sure, blame Wacom for your impatience, Mr. Heaton.