The thing to remember here is that this article still is pretty vague. They use "such as" but don't actually list everything they collect. I have spent a considerable amount of time decompiling various components and what they gather does seem excessive.

For example, in the article they say they something like "information about the processor and BIOS" when in fact they collect: * Baseboard Manufacturer * Baseboard product * Baseboard version * BIOS version * BIOS release date * BIOS vendor * Enclosure type * System family * System manufacturer * System product * System SKU number

I also see related calls like AmiHardwareItemsEnumerate, AmiProgramsEnumerate, AmiStoreGetProgramAttributes, AmiStoreHardwareItemsEnumerate, AmipGetFilesOfProgram, InitializeHardwareIds, GetServiceAndInfInfo, ParseBaseboardAttributes, ParseBiosAttributes, ParseEnclosureAttributes, and ParseSystemAttributes.

Other things that don't seem necessary is getting a list of users, knowing all the software you installed and when you installed each one, how many physical monitors you have and the attributes of each one, enumerating every USB device you have ever plugged in, etc.

Now sure, you can argue that none of this information is really an infringement on our privacy, and I agree, but there are several concerns here. First, this information could be very useful in the hands of a hacker. Second, much of this information sounds like it has more to do with business strategies and competition rather than quality assurance. Third, although this is what they are collecting now, that can change at any time and we installed the software without ever knowing what was collected. Fourth, now that they crossed certain lines, how far can they go and how far can everyone else go when it comes to collecting our data? And finally, there is no way for us to opt out of data collection.

In other words yeah this information individually is trivial, although together it is significant and is a troubling trend and very slippery slope.