[rick888]

"you are justifiably upset when later told that you were actually RENTING software X"

You aren't renting it. You are paying for a license. Renting implies that you are paying the company a monthly fee to use it, which rarely happens with packaged software (unless you are buying support or paying for some sort of service). You get one license to use it. You just can't share it with all of your friends for free or start selling multiple copies of it (which is understandable).

"Now, you are within your rights to be both dumbfounded and irate if you are told years later by the builder of the house (or car manufacturer) that you cannot sell your home or your car to another party because they have not given express permission for you to transfer ownership."

Since so many people like you are bitching about how buying software isn't actually "buying", it leads me to believe that most people already know this. If this wasn't the case, I think we would see more lawsuits in the US.