Actually a killer combination is this (or a more-affordable VPS) _plus_ a Chromebook. You can SSH into your Linux desktop to do programming and heavy computing

Actually a killer combination is this (or a more-affordable VPS) _plus_ a Chromebook. You can SSH into your Linux desktop to do programming and heavy computing, and use web apps. If you need some GUI, you do a web app on your server and connect to it from the browser on your Chromebook. (Instead of a full-on remote desktop VNC.) This is a really nice way to work. And your Chromebook is disposable/wipe-able. It's basically a terminal. Welcome to 1970, but with the web app twist. And of course you can SSH/browse into that same server from whatever else, too. Like a tablet, a full laptop, or even a desktop.