I agree with you on all counts except the use of AIM as an example of the internet's savior. They do sell your soul to evil men, just not by allowing spam. Instead, they install several spyware/adware apps that come bundled for "increased productivity" or some such junk. Consider, for example, this quote from their EULA concerning their Pop-up blocker:

"Pop-up blocker and browser bar with one-click AIM features. Also improves access to search by resetting IE browser error and search pages."

This is the exact behavior in certain adware programs that makes me run Ad-Aware and WinPatrol to monitor my computer for possible malware.

They also install Viewpoint to show ads with or without your permission. I've nothing against Viewpoint specifically, but any time a third party program is installed, I want to be able to make my own decision (in this case, my decision would be NO, because Viewpoint is used for nothing but annoying ads).