Those functions could (and probably do) call some MS-controlled DLLs. Which can be changed anytime with an OS update. Like adding logging of the command line, starting external file monitoring etc.
All these privacy issues are not about what "they" do now, but what they will decide to do in the future without notice. See Carrier IQ discussions.
If your production SW is sold to a restrictive client (like goverment, NSA whatever) and you don't disclose these hooks, you can have bad consequences whether you knew about it or not.

I totally agree with you. When I bought my 3D LG, they barely had dual-core CPUs while android sticks with quads were already available. I bought the cheapest dual-core (although the CPU was not part of the decision....this just helped delay the buyers remorse).
TVs and monitors (at least the bigger ones) are changed less often than almost any other computing device because of price and size (at least in my case). So basicaly you get an already obsolete SMART TV functionality which you will keep for years. Last years 50$ FireTV stick is way more powerfull then my 2014 TV.

Oh....and please get the input lag to 10-20ms range. I don't care about 4K and beautiful picture if I can't play gran turismo on it.

Yeah....for watching movies or playing games WITH ALL LIGHTS OFF.
My first widescreen monitor was a glossy Dell, which I hated until I finally found a very big reason to scrap it (FYI: input lag). Whenever I was gaming during the day, I would see myself and my room on half of the screen (window was on my left side).
After realizing that, I saw a darker glossy coating on some Sony laptops, which would be better inside (this was in a big well-lit store), but that would still pose problems outside.
PS: all matte surfaces cause pixelation. I'm looking at my office HP 23" matte screen, and I can barely notice some pixelation. But it's there.

I don't know what screen cover you had, but all my matte screen protectors are better than the clear ones (except for pixelation).
The finger glides immediately after cleaning as oposed to clear ones where the finger sticks until it gets oily; and then it's oily.
I don't think matte surface is immune to oiling, but it takes a lot longer to notice it. Some say it's harder to clean....but clear ones I have to clean more often.
I did try a glass screen with oleophobic coating, which I got close enough to the feel of matte screen, with the screen clarity.

So if I had to choose a new protector, I'm undecided between oleophobic glass and matte plastic. The decision is glare vs pixelation (and price and availability).
But for outdoor, matte all the way. Dark glossy anti-glare is just for indoor lighting.

I don't support making a SW protection in the 1st place. It just adds complexity which could open another door. SW is NOT the answer to everything.

Actually, just switching the LSBs from the row address would be enough, with the manufacturer hiding it (or even better: randomizing).
Since "researching" for this, I saw some information that they already have a mapping for production yelding; which is logical, as you can get more chips with target-size+10% and 91% working (100 from 110) than target-sized and perfect. But I think they currently just "skip", instead of re-arrange rows.
Also, the individual chips which eventually feed the 64-bit bus (with 512bits in 1 DDR3 cycle) could be configured differently (so 2 consecutive rows as seen by the CPU could have only some physical adjacency...think about modules with 8 or 16 chips).

Actually what you say can't happen fast enough to affect the "current" generation of politicians, so I don't see why they would care.

However, backdoors can allow "intelligence" operators to access a lot of people. And by operators, I mean individuals going for personal gain (like a politician paying an operator to dig stuff about an oponent).
While this would not be so dangerous, as the "little" people would seldom feel the wrath (this is mostly for money and power), the problem does arise of the "private" certificates defined for the back door which WILL eventually get on the black market. Example: Sony PS3 keys. And before you say it took "x" years, there are 2 motives to worry about the trend: 1. this affects general public, not just gamers 2. public-funded organizations may not have the security of private companies. In other words, I forsee faster leaking and higher-impact abuse.

Gathering data has NO USE in prevention. Because algorithms CANNOT differentiate between keywords in sarcastic/trolling communication vs. serious. And in serious communications, the keywords would be replaced with mundane words. I mean, even in regular communications, when you don't want people around you to know the details, you will omit them or rephrase somehow that only relevant people understand. Perfect example is a discussion from Analyse This containing "that thing" and "the other thing".
Their gathering agenda fulfills 2 roles: blackmails (whether on employee or company agenda) and "reports". I see no use for anything else. Either way, you need to already be on their agenda for them to use it against you, most likely "after" an event, which for suicidal attempts is USELESS. They can't do it again, to justify "prevention".
And financing such roles, nobody will publicly admit it (especially since "reports" are for justifying finacing).
So somehow they need to disguise it for "the people". ("An INDIVIDUAL is smart, but people are dumb and panicky!", M.I.B.)

Oh yeah!...."Intelligence", "Security", are just like "quality" in corporate enviroment: it just means extra things were written because anyone is expendable and new people lack knowledge. Nothing they do reveals their keywords. On the contrary, I would say creates enemies.

I don't know who, but I have an idea how: Don't use anything connected: email, chat, connected-navigation; I would go even for phones and SMS, but I think that's a stretch (especially since they could be useful for meeting details). Basically what every Sunday SHOULD be: BBQ with family. This would be great icentive for sampling the unconnected world, as the current reccomandations do not have immediate or forseable goals, except for authors "trust me! it will be better for you".

Nice.....I actually jumped and bought the x230 when I saw the pictures of x240, even though x240 had an optional FullHD screen. I hate the hinges of the newer laptops. And I actually looked at x250 recently. So an upgrade with retro styling would be awesome.

Soooo....build a 12" laptop, with hinges fixed to the base, not screen (so you can actually use the back space, like with a bulky battery and/or connections), matte screen, with 800 or more lines (1366x768: hate, 1280x800: excelent....I hate this 16:9 trend, which is ok for 20+" screens, which you could actually use for movies), at least 3 USB connectors and either HDMI or DP. Oh yeah....and small bezels.

PS: my personal laptop history: Thinkpad 600, T61, Edge 11 (aka x120, where I found my hate for the higes fixed to screen), x230. So if they make a 11-12" version.....I'll quote: "Shut up and take my money!"

MB:Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
CPU: Intel Core i7-4771
RAM: Kingston KHX1600C9D3/4GX *4
GPU1: Powercolor Radeon 7950
HDD1: Samsung 840 256GB
HDD2: Crucial BX100 500GB
PSU: Corsair 450HX (modular)
Case: Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
Sound: Asus Xonar DGX
Monitors: Dell U2312HM *3
Operating System Debian 64-bit + Windows 7 64-bit + Xen 4.1
Others: Aten CS1794 4-port HDMI+USB KVM

So here's the kicker: This is my AAA gaming machine, whos BIOS/EFI never booted Windows (I'm also excluding grub loading Windows). My usage scenario: Linux is always booted with Intel's IGP and MB's onboard sound. Then I start my Windows virtual machine which controls the Radeon and Xonar. Adding some USB stuff, and my virtual machine works great. The setup was specifically chosen for Intel's VT-d support.
In case you are wondering, I do play AAA games, like Deus Ex HR (which was the 1st in a virtual machine, but with my previous Z68/i5-2500 setup), Skyrim (whos 200+ Steam hours never saw native Windows), Project CARS, iRacing, last 2 Wolfensteins (I'm playing Old Blood this week).

Actually, yesterday I even did a tech support, by pausing the game (W:Old Blood), switching to the linux KVM port (CS1794's 1st and 2nd port are connected to this PC), do a TeamViewer session, finish, return to the game.

PS: while the CPU+MB are still relevant, I am keeping my out for next-get GPUs.
PS2: there are a lot of issues with VT-d in consumer HW, the biggest ones would be sound (I tried maybe 7 cards) and USB (around 4 controllers). On sound, Xonar DGX and Hercules Fortissimo IV are the best (PCIe and PCI respectively), followed by onboard audio. On USB front, Intel's HW is unbeatable (considering the same chip is rebranded for workstation target). 2nd was a VIA USB3 controller, but I've had issues with my FFB wheel (like not taking the input for around 1s on many ocasions...a racing no-no).

SW is a big blame.
My Z1C has an uptime of 1-2 months (for those who don't know, that's the period between reboots), and a battery life of 3-4 days.
My usage: nova launcher, occasional phone calls (less than 1h/week), gmail+calendar sync, Bluetooth LE watch (Casio), net, some music (poweramp).
My NEVER usage: facebook, twitter, any other social-media stuff, games.

Just as a heads up, I measured 18Mbps (that is 1.8MB/s) with my OpenWRT TP-link WDR4300 (with AR9344 @ 560MHz) . I don't think off-the-shelf routers have any openVPN support, so no HW encryption engines.
If you need higher speeds, forget off-the-self routers (at least for the VPN end-points).

I think Linux support differs from model to model (as opposed to manufacturers). I'm using a Gigabyte Z87X-UD3 and I've had no trouble. I boot Xen with debian-testing since spring and using a Windows 7 guest as gaming platform (VT-d for those who wonder).
Previously I used Asrock Z68 for the same purpose.
However, my MB pre-buy research was based mostly on VMWare E??? (the one which supports PCI passthrough) feedback since VT-d was an "elimination" criteria.

Well, I'm insignificant to statistics, but I do have (and use) 2 add-in cards in my gaming system (all others systems use onboard).
Reasons (1 for each):
1. Onboard sound circuit detects multiple headhpone connections/disconnection (multiple times/second, without having headphones....search Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H headphone problems)
2. I use virtualization for my gaming platform (Windows on Linux, with VT-d a.k.a. IOMMU for GPU, Sound, NIC, USB) and I need sound. (Warning: non-OP details following:) From 4 tested cards (+2 onboard +AMD5850 HDMI output), 2 of them work flawlessly (Xonar DGX/PCIe and Hercules Fortissimo IV/PCI) and Creatives are no-no (Audigy 2 and X-Fi Titanium PCIe...although the latter works pretty good in HDA emulation, without Creative drivers).