Review author here.
@Tech Haberdashery & @Konstantinos:
Yes, you cannot normally install Microsoft Office on Linux, via the terminal or otherwise, without some kind of compatibility layer. That was put in here for those not familiar with Linux to show that some applications they may be familiar with are unavailable on Linux. I understand that was probably not the best example to use (Open Office and Libreoffice are comparable products), but the purpose was to illustrate to those familiar with Windows that Linux won't have the same applications they're used to seeing/using.
I can understand how shocking/stupid that looks to Linux users. It was for Windows users interested in what a Linux laptop has to offer.
@Ciaran:
While we would have loved to directly analyze/compare CPU temps under load, since the Librem 13 runs Linux, we could not use our standard set of software tools to benchmark it. Linux does have ways of measuring system load, but it wouldn't be a direct apples-to-apples comparison. The software used on Linux to put the CPU under extended load might work differently than what we've used on prior Windows laptops. In the interest of giving a fair comparison, we unfortunately had to nix a few of our regular review items to eliminate any oddities due to OS/kernel/software differences.
@PA:
I understand your reasoning that newer hardware may be susceptible to heretofore unseen vulnerabilities. I don't doubt this; however, I would like to know where you're getting this information as I'd like to look into it myself.
That said, the Skylake platform is somewhat infamous for its vulnerabilities (remember Spectre, Meltdown, and the issues with IME?). Skylake is still seeing security issues pop up (re: PortSmash). While some security issues can be mitigated by flashing a new BIOS like coreboot, some of the issues are inherent to the Skylake chipset itself.
By your reasoning, why not get an even older computer like a ThinkPad T420? Or go even further back to the ThinkPad T60? Both of these have proven to be decent Linux laptops. They still have security flaws that are either unpatchable or will never be resolved by Intel.
The point I'm making is this - there is no such thing as a truly secure laptop system. There will always be flaws. I laud Purism for their mission in providing software and hardware that puts user security and privacy first, but I don't think they did enough to justify the $1400 price tag considering the lackluster specifications. With a bit of hunting and a little computer know-how, someone could get an XPS 13 with the same Skylake CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of NVMe storage for about $800-1000 and then install coreboot and PureOS on it for free.
That's why I was so critical of the price - the target audience for this will already be fairly familiar with how Linux works and how to install a distro. So why shouldn't they get a comparable Windows PC, wipe everything, and install PureOS themselves? It could be done at half the cost for the Librem 13.