1. Currently I forward everything to a Gmail account and reply from the proper address using the "send mail as" feature. I use multiple labels and a long list

1. Currently I forward everything to a Gmail account and reply from the proper address using the "send mail as" feature. I use multiple labels and a long list of filters, some with many conditional clauses to sort email into the proper labels. 2. I'm not entirely sure what you are asking. 3. When on my laptop I use Pidgin to sign into all my IM services including Google Talk and Facebook. I use aliases and groups because most of my contacts are on multiple networks. 4. A desktop computer hooked up to a TV and speakers acts as my media and server machine. I use MPD to play music remotely. 5. I use Dropbox for backup of most documents and an external hard drive for everything else. 6. I mostly prefer local services but I do occasionally connect to Dropbox to grab documents when away from one of my machines. I also forward SSH connections to my desktop through my router in case I need to transfer something else.