The arms race for features and billion dollar infra spend is reminiscent to me of web 1.0. Things like security and actual customer utility are taking a back seat to releasing quickly and licking all the cookies. A big difference from web 1.0, though, is that it's not a bunch of wacky startups but like 5 giant corporations.

Specific to Windows Recall, it seems like they didn't do thorough threat modeling prior to release. Domestic abuse, government surveillance, identity theft, and credit card fraud are just a few of the threat vectors this makes worse.

(yes, I'm the Mozilla person quoted in the article)

I've hired many software engineers over the years, and I'm a software engineer myself. I think you would be silly to transfer to a more pretigious (and probably much more expensive) school for your undergrad degree. As others have pointed out, an undergrad degree isn't even a requirement for many CS jobs, but it definitely helps and it makes it much easier to advance in your field. However, where you went to school is almost immaterial, as long it's a reputable school. If you look at the likely difference in your salary for the next, say, 5 years, it's unlikely a fancy school would provide any ROI, particularly given the additional expense of the education.

If your folks are itching to set you up on a career fast track, tell them to put you through a fancy grad school for a masters. Brand name matters a lot more for grad schools, and the better schools also tend to have excellent job placement programs and active alumni networks that can mean more opportunities for you down the road.