I agree, but in searching around on some Samsung forums last night I did come across someone who had accidentally gotten into "reflash mode" (or whatever they call it) and had no idea how to fix it (i.e., hold down the power button for 10 seconds).

Run this story up the chain of command and what comes down from management may very well be "lock the bootloader so we don't end up like Sony", even though that may not be the root cause.

Still, I'd thought better of ASUS.