Software-wise, they desperately need to update Calendar and Mail apps. They're sub-par. Everything else is okay, but those two things are sore points.

The email and calendar apps are indeed a weak point. They need to beef those up STAT. At the very least, the email app should be as good as the one in WP8.

Well, I just use IE10 bookmarks (pin to start) for facebook, twitter, and GoogleDocs... works well.

I know one family... parents were right-wing religious conservative Republicans. Three kids: two boys one girl. All three homosexual. And all three pretty messed up by the right-wing-religious nonsense (the kids never came out to the parents, who have now passed... they're all in their 40s).

No, it shouldn't, because it's not.

What the Surface RT (and Pro) need are:

Why is the screen a deal breaker? Have you actually seen it in person? It's incredibly sharp and vibrant... much more so than the resolution specs would indicate. In fact, I was really impressed by the screen.

How is the pricing not competitive with the iPad?