That's absolutely not true. I regularly compile large programs (granted, not linux kernel large, but relatively large) and paly games, and my early 2011 MVP does everything I need. Try to look at a comparable quality build laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad with the same spec) and you'll see what you can pay for a windows machine.
I usually have the files open in both the IDE and in sublime. Any program worth its salt will be able to cope with me changing in another program and reload the changes.
network connectivity, sure. I spend most of my time on a university campus, which has pretty much every port (bar 80) blocked, so if an updater decides to use another port, I can't access it. Sure, with a VPN I can fix it, but it's not an ideal solution.
It's two lines of a form to fill in.
I think it's unfair for you to give out to that guy about touting MS looking at your comment history. All I can see in that is defending Google, nothing more. Also picking on people for defending other companies