NO this isnt a overwrite, its a fresh install on a new computer that was a gift.
And yes I will give MS a pass. It is not up to MS to code everybodies drivers, it is up to companies to do it for themselves, freemarket and all of that stuff. The OS itself has not crashed, frozen, burped, farted or sneezed. In fact the OS remains perfectly operable while the video card takes a trip to the toilet.
DRM I could care less about, for one I am not a thief and two I am not using my computer as a DVR, or any sort of entertainment hub. Just give me the occasional game and I will work on excel and powerpoint.
Actually in September was when they released RC1 to the public, and the driver dev I believe goes back to last January. Alot of driver searches you will find people who are using the RC's(release candidates) which had limited, and in most cases experimental support.
As for DRM, whether you are going to use it for DVR or any other media viewing is irrelevant cause its in there, and it does directly tie into the video subsystem. It has to.
As for RC's yes they've been out a while, but at some point they have to lock down certain portions and say (for example device vendors) write to this, this is what we're shipping. A lot can change from when they first got a look at it and when redmond locks it. Now if a vendor has a very small product line up and little legacy to support, that might not be as big an issue. When you get into guys like nVidia, ATI and Creative, to name but a few, then it becomes one.