"Automatically update the programs I currently have installed when new versions are available, with a flag to disable this behavior" vs. "Arbitrarily install new programs from scratch via a separate mechanism that doesn't respect the 'disable automatic updates' flag"

Windows Update pushes all sorts of junk. At some point, Nadella must have realized, "Shit, Windows users put up with years of adware on their computers in the 90s and 00s. We're leaving money on the table by not taking advantage of this!"

Ex: In 2019, Microsoft added a shortcut Win+Ctrl+Alt+Shift that when pressed, brings up an advertisement to buy MS Office, which I have no use for, and you need to edit the registry to disable the shortcut. I already gave MS thousands of dollars for the laptop, you'd think they could leave me alone if they want me to buy another one.

Although at least with Windows, you can remove most of the damage yourself, which is more than can be said for Android. Quite honestly why does the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act exist if manufacturers remain free to abuse your machines at will?

the difference is that there is a fundamentally different power dynamic, you can just not do business with microsoft, you can't do that with the government.