Yeah, for the majority of users, no doubt you're right. But I find their term "improved security" to be rather Orwellian. Part of it is, of course, for their benefit, not that of the end user. Limited Functionality Mode, for instance; what's in that for me? You've read some of the horror stories, change some hardware, go on vacation, come back and your OS is crippled or dead. No doubt all that stuff about a "kill switch" has been overstated, but there you are.
I'm no pirate. But WGA always irked me, so I went the Windizupdate and Autopatcher route. Security I can handle myself, although of course there are millions of users out there without a clue.
Anyway, as the article states, most of Vista's problems have been due to immature/glitchy drivers. The "average" user will get along okay after the first service pack.
As to DRM/HDCP , perhaps some of the problems with WMP 10 and 11 are attributable to DRM. So, a crummy player is now even worse. [shrugs]. I try to keep up with the latest developments on doom9 (pro video site), and make no mistake, if something can be played, it can be copied. I've busted DRM myself (shhh!) just to verify it can be done and even without that, there's always the analog hole. Pirates will not be deterred by DRM. Yes, make copying a little tougher and the average user won't try to circumvent it. So admittedly there's a useful purpose to DRM from the view of the copyright holder.
Vista is a "no sale" for me, but obviously my own attitudes have a lot to do with it.
The OS on my computer must have only one master: me.