>> That plus the fact that Linux lacks 3rd party app support

No.
3rd party apps lack linux support.

Just use Linux.

PDF is editable...

>> Can they also put a switch in this to make Office usable?

Just install Libreoffice.... Or Linux with LO.

Can it run Linux ?

>> The Surface Pro has always been marketed as a laptop replacement, not as just a tablet.
mmh, a Laptop you can't put on the lap. Let's rather call it a 'tabletop'.

>> our prime minister Rutte (in NL) got mad about his phone not being tapped ...

That, sir, is impossible. We monitor everything ! We record every phone call !
An official not being listened to ? I call BS.

The other 60M experienced the Verfassungsschutz, which had (has) the same practices, but on a "smaller" scale

Yep. Even worse, the Verfassungsschutz (interior "security" agency, created by the USA after the war by recruiting former nazis) is even more implied in (neo)nazi affairs from '45 until today. They basically fund the neonazi party by having half the party being "undercover agents" (thus paid by the government) ....

There's only one way to deal with it : close the BND and the Verfassungsschutz.

>> and in 1 in 1000 installs that cases has some weird behavior.

Get the compiler rand seed with the bug report.
Reproduce the compilation and the test the bug.
Profit.

This could help to force coders to write tidier code.

Exactly.

Plus the advantage that generalized local compilation is good for avoiding backdoors, you can vompare your source with an audited one, which is not so easy for a bloody binary...

>> And would make that buggy software nearly impossible to patch.

A patch applies to the source, recompile, and there you are.

>> Every time there's a security vulnerability found, you'd essentially have to reinstall the whole application.

No, you have to patch the source and recompile the exe. It's a much saner workflow than to patch a binary (who does this anyway?).

>> How much Asbestos is in an old nuclear plant?

A lot. At the time, it was not considered toxic, and it was a common building material handled by common techniques.

>> Well you're comparing phones/appliances to computers, so yes.

Phones and appliances are computers.

>> I shouldn't need to tcpdump their IMAP traffic to discover that the server is telling them their password is wrong damnit!

You should use encryption and not be able to analyze the traffic anyway.