Alright.

So, the other day I restored my brother's computer to operability, due to an unfortunate run in with a small swarm of virii.

while restoring, I was asked to sign the license for Vista. Fair enough, thought I. I checked it and got the gist.

Don't decompile, redistribute, illegally copy and give to a friend, etc...

Standard claptrap. Fine. It's your multimillion dollar OS, Bill. I'll play along.

Then, I saw something very infuriating. Below that, was another checkbox. It simply read to the effect of 'I understand and sign the license required to use my computer'

...

Excuse me?!

That is either horribly redundant, or a horrible violation of my rights as the owner of the computer.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Not my machine. However, as it was impossible to bypass that screen without clicking that checkbox, there was no way that machine would function at all.

Either way. I am not angry about the license for windows. That is their right as the programmers of the OS.

They have no right to enforce a license on the (i)hardware(/i), however. We own that part. Their was a transaction of money, and not for any license. We purchased the components that Windows is running on, and they have no permission or right to own the computer we purchased.

As Shamus Young once said, "My computer is a tool, which I use for many things. Running Windows is simply means to that end, not an end in itself."

If this isn't a horrible misuse of consumer rights, I'm not sure what is.

Please, by all means, Microsoft. Correct mine understanding.