You can install Linux, buy a mac, or use XP without updates. Or become a neophite and give up technology all together.

You still have the choice. Microsoft will not force you to use vista. Unless you consider losing access to updates being forced

But you have the choice to run XP without updates or without Antivirus. All they would be doing is not supplying updates anymore. But, you can still run xp.

OK, its not slower if you have a decent machine. Its Safer because it prompts you to do everything instead of just assuming you want to run it. And it is more reliable if you have new hardware.

The problem is people are running it on old hardware. So, its good if you are running new hardware. In fact as i said earlier, it has been more beneficial for me. So its not crap for me. Its good for me. Just not for you.

So quit using "crap" because its subjective and instead use "not good for me"

You have freedom of choice to do all that I mentioned or run your machine unprotected when they drop the support life cycle, so you are not being forced because you can choose how much protection you actually want to run with.