well there maybe some truth to the limewire thing. on my setup limewire crashes the computer, but when i looked at the error logs it looked like a java issue, and not a M$ keeping you from pirating issue.
what we do know is that M$ is in bed with the record labels and the movie industry. but monitoring your computer, violates your rights (at least in America) and i doubt they would win that supreme court battle.I dont think gates is dumb enough to try it, with the thing about Sony's Rootkit, they could never get by with it. And if they are doing it, whem we find hard evidence, it will be a huge lawsuit, they will most likely loose, adn exveryone will go back to XP, buy a mac, or use Linux.