Re: Linux?
>>"Does Linux brick things? And if you're a real "Linux hacker" you shouldn't be afraid of bricking things - and installing an OS "
When fiddling around with trying to install an OS on a device designed for something else, yes, there is a risk of bricking something. And that's not because of GNU/Linux. It's a tablet! You wipe the existing contents of the "drive" and fiddle with the boot partition you could well brick it long before you even get to the bit where you choose a new OS to install. That's why you want to do it on something cheap like this and not a Surface Pro 3 or something.
More helpfully, to the OP - it's an x86 device with full Windows (well the cheapo Bing version, anyway) so you should be able to disable Secure Boot (being able to do so is a requirement) and as an x86 device there's a strong chance you'll be able to get GNU/Linux installed and running so I say go for it. Touch screens are now supported in several of the modern OSs. Anything with Gnome 3.6.3 and up has a good chance of working. Much as I prefer KDE for desktop use, Gnome might be a better choice for touch screens unless KDE has improved on this recently. Hope that helps. Remember to post about your attempt so others can learn from it! Good luck!
