You don't even know what software I am talking about, so how can you call it
second-rate?  I have conceded that there is plenty of "crap" (as you
characterized it) out there, and I have also used qualifiers such as
"frequently" and said that *I* am not doctrinaire.  I find this discussion
rather ironic, because I am usually on the other side of this argument
(albeit employing a nicer, less "scorched-earth" approach) with my hard-core
FOSS friends.  But yes, that *is* what it is all about: customization--the
right tool for the job at hand.  Have you ever tried to outfit 400 computers
for schools in sub-Saharan Africa?  Can you imagine the licence expense, to
say nothing of the localisation costs?  Add to that the hardware--and
power--needed to run bloated operating systems, when low-cost, lean,
customized OS's and apps exist (yes, with active local support) that can run
on flash memory, and your idea of "crap" and "second-rate" might change.  

It truly is a Flat World, my friend.  Companies like Microsoft, and the US
in general, ignore this at their peril.  No one is trying to emulate
Microsoft; they're just applying the principle of Occam's Razor.

I run my OS, my email client, and my calendar app (among other apps) on a
USB key; wherever I go, regardless of native OS, I simply plug in my key
and--boom--there is "my" computer.  Afterwards, I simply unplug my key and
off I go, leaving nothing behind.  Try that with Outlook.