How much can you abuse your customers before they leave?

It's the age-old question Microsoft has been trying for years to figure out. How much can a company abuse it's customers before said customers decide to just say "good bye" - or is that "good riddance?"

Despite slow gains in Mac OS X and Ubuntu (the most common desktop GNU/Linux distribution), the answer has consistently been that Microsoft customers will happily take a lot of abuse. But, Microsoft is going too far with the products most likely intended for their youngest (and therefore longest-lived with most purchasing power ahead) potential customers. You see, yesterday, my 12-year old cousin bought a netbook pre-loaded with Windows 7 Starter. She's a really artsy creative type and before I ever saw it she started playing with it. When I came over to help her set it up, her first question was "how do I change the desktop background?"

I had already wanted to put Ubuntu Linux on it (dual-boot so she COULD run Windows apps when she absolutely needed to), an idea she was lukewarm to. Open to play with, but she was comfy in Windows. Well, when I told her that "you can't do that with Windows 7 Starter" she was ready to cry and return the netbook. I told her "but Ubuntu will let you" and she had a smile on your face.

Guess what? While she will need Windows occasionally - one artsy 12 year old is using Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 happily exploring the world of free and open source software and has on her own, with a tiny bit of help to get started, got herself a very customized purpley desktop and theme - with more customizations than even Win 7 Home Premium allows. She's making cool art stuff with free software projects and loving it.

She'll need Windows occasionally, but I bet she won't use it but once a week - if that. Time will tell, but I think that Microsoft alienated Becca as a customer forever. All because they hoped that crippling the ability to change the background would sell some "Windows Anytime Updates" - maybe it will, but I bet it'll push a lot more *FREE* downloads of the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Sorry Microsoft, you are really being quite stupid. Alienating your youngest customers - or potential customers - is a sure-fire plan on the fast track to failing within a generation.