I doubt they care about their image. Microsoft has traditionally acted in a very monopolistic - sometimes almost solipsistic - manner. In recent years they've b

I doubt they care about their image. Microsoft has traditionally acted in a very monopolistic - sometimes almost solipsistic - manner. In recent years they've broadened their approach a bit, but NIH syndrome is going to be a key part of their culture for a long time. They may not have even considered that "telemetry" might hurt their image (or profits). Even on HN we regularly see people complaining that they cannot switch to a different OS. Technical solutions sometimes help but MS probably assumes that most people will submit to the lockin. Image doesn't matter when most people are tied to the platform. When games are enough to tie people to Windows, MS can do whatever they want.