If 90% of the code I run is in safe rust (including the part that's new and written by me, therefore most likely to introduce bugs) and 10% is in C or unsafe rust, are you saying that has no value?

Il meglio è l'inimico del bene. Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. Perfect is the enemy of good.

Depends on which OS we are talking about.

I know a few where that doesn't hold, including some still being paid for in 2026.

If you're sufficiently stubborn, it's certainly possible to call directly into code written in Verilog, held together with inscrutable Perl incantations.

High-level languages like C certainly have their place, but the space seems competitive these days. Who knows where the future will lead.