That's a very legitimate gripe, not just when you're buying a netbook but a consumer PC in general. Chances are, unless you are very careful, you're going to get something you didn't quite want. My point was if the standard for comparison is 'properly configured Ubuntu' then its match is 'properly configured Windows'. I can't really see a glaring advantage of one over the other, both taking particular pride of being top of their specific vertical of unusability.
I would be much happier with MS if they would just release different versions for different needs and let me choose which version of the OS I needed and change it at will. The fact that I can do this with Linux is what made me switch in the first place.
And Ubuntu Netbook Remix blows the doors off of Windows 7 Starter for a netbook OS (I assume that this still applies now that they call it Netbook Edition, also).