So now, what Microsoft is facing is a pretty strong push-back from users and businesses against Vista's many issues, of which this sort-of self-help is one.  This has done nothing but good by increasing interest in Apple, Sun, Open Source solutions, and staying with Windows XP.  This is putting Microsoft into a very bad position, and they know it (see the recent OOXML/ISO fiasco and their sort-of agreement for Microsoft Office to include ODF compatibility).

The same applies to software companies that include electronic self-help as part of their offering.  It seems pretty risky to me to put any part of one's business under the control of a product that might, without warning, lock up access to your data, or lock up access to the program functions that you paid for. If there is a dispute about a contract, it is up to a court to decide, and accepting a product with electronic self-help included would be a terrible business decision. What responsible IT department would put its business at risk by purchasing such software?

If one does not like a company's prices or policies, they should NOT purchase the product.  A company has every right to protect their product in any way that they see fit, and the purchaser has every right to buy it or not as they see fit. The only bad thing about electronic self-help is if it is not disclosed as being a part of a product before purchase.

Electronic Self-help could actually be good in some ways; it might bring back more internal development of software, thus bringing jobs back into our country and maybe even back in-house. It would open up opportunities in the market for a company to develop a competing product that advertises that it does NOT include electronic self-help.

Dorothy Parker wrote a poem that sums this whole issue up perfectly: http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/4911/