It wasn't self-sabotaging. The first netbooks ran Linux and ran okay, at a time when Microsoft was about to EOL Windows XP and Vista absolutely wouldn't run on such devices. If they'd caught on, it could have spelled the end of Microsoft desktop hegemony. It prompted a panicked reaction of extending the service life of XP, while introducing restrictive licensing to pitiful 1024x600 displays (which fit the current crop, but restricted their growth). It was a classic "embrace/extinguish" response to an existential threat.