Not that it's something new, though this theme comes up again it seems. Not only that, in the german version of the site on the links below, in the comments some users who are technically well versed and aware of their own computer, tell of Windows Vista Ultimate and Microsoft Office 2007 Professional trying insistenlty to contact Microsoft with data from your PC, without asking.
But see for yourself... and consider to choose Linux over Windows Vista
All Microsoft updates phone home
WGA notification just doesn't stop
Edit: Countermeasures seem to be in the works, though I still would advise to be careful with anything from Microsoft.
Microsoft Updates to Stop Vista Piracy