Not entirely on the same page, but the RRoD bricked two of my 360s. One was in warranty, they sent me a new one. It RRoRed a little while later, but I was out of warranty now, so no replacement for me. I bought a new one, then that one RRoRed after about 3.5 years. I'll never purchase another Microsoft product just because I don't have faith in their ability to create a hardware product after that debacle. Such a waste.

My NES, Playstation, PS2, N64, etc. all still work. 360s die within three years of purchase.

With that logic Sony never should have allowed (like the Xbox) a second OS on the PS3, so people wouldn't bitch about the removal.

Indeed, never offer features that you don't intend to fully support. People hate change, but they hate you more if you take away something they use, especially if they feel they paid for it.

Has Microsoft ever given the possibility to install Linux on the XBox 360?

No, but Sony gave that possibility then took it away.