And this is another example of why i left windows. No matter how much customization I make, microsoft makes it very clear that it's theirs and that I am along for their ride. I find this absolutely intolerable, a total violation of privacy, and totally in poor taste; which, is at least on brand for microsoft.

It seems like microsoft can do whatever they want to windows, and treat the users with as little disregard as they please - and there will be no consequences. Their users will either allow it, or jump through the config registry to disable the latest unwanted behavior.