Microsoft is already considered "big brother" by many who dislike it's dominance of the IT and personal computing market, so when they do something with less than genuine intentions it's going to raise the ire of many. Any business relationship (B2B or B2C) boils down to a few key tenants; the benefits both parties receive through the transaction, and the trust underlying the relationship. The more dominance, power or control one side has than the other, the easier it is for trust to be damaged.
As Brian Krebs of the Washington Post reported, one such occurrence surfaced this week by WindowSecrets.com confirming Microsoft literally "pushed" a software update onto Windows XP users. The update ignored their Windows Update setting, requiring an okay before applying any updates. Now that move has backfired because users who repaired their XP system from the installation CD have an operating system that blocks the installation of 80-some updates, leaving their systems vulnerable. That strands users, unknowingly, with systems that can and may have been (though none have been confirmed that I'm aware of) compromised as a result.
Now any anti-Microphobe (of which I'm not one) can say told ya so when it comes to abusing control over your PC. Have any PCs been damaged (hacked) as a result? That we don't know, but the damage here is to customers' trust that power won't be abused. Something similar happened a year or so ago when too much information about your computer was being sent back to Microsoft during system updates. Each situation erodes that trust a little bit further.
I think it is important for every vendor, not just the big ones like Microsoft, to place a high value on the trust relationship with the customer. Not just because of potential media exposure or public embarrassment. But because ultimately trust is the foundation that relationship is built upon, and when destroyed or eroded far enough the relationship breaks.
As Uncle Ben taught Spider-Man Peter Parker; "with great power, comes great responsibility."
(Man, I love it when I can get in a great comic book reference every once in a while.) :)
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