[xquce]

Surely Microsoft have the expertise and resources to make a platform of driver signing that separate addon software and basic driver needs? Why should a USB headset plugged in be allowed to auto install audio software, recording software, antivirus software and adware, and not even from the device itself but fetch it from Windows Update platform) without the users consent? Surely it would just install the needed audio driver to pass sound as signed by Microsoft, with an option for the rest?

The proposed solution to this huge issue in windows isn't to let average users fend for themselves, no one is arguing that.

[phendrenad2]

That's a good middle position, but it's still not without drawbacks. The PC ecosystem has always been about Microsoft providing the OS, and a bevy of name brand vendors providing the hardware. Put Microsoft in an adversarial relationship with the hardware vendors, and the whole uneasy alliance falls apart.

Luckily, Microsoft doesn't have to do anything, and the free market is already solving this. Most people will buy hardware with annoying ads exactly once, then they'll find another alternative. This natural self-correction makes the tradeoffs above even more serious by comparison.