Geez, simple solution. Keep another box around, a Mac Mini or a cheap Windows box, for the stuff Linux doesn't do. If you try to get by with a single desktop

Geez, simple solution. Keep another box around, a Mac Mini or a cheap Windows box, for the stuff Linux doesn't do. If you try to get by with a single desktop environment, you'll get fed up with any of the choices out there. It isn't worth the pain. You'll get tired of the Mac when you realize that nice interface is the only... environment... you'll... ever... have. Everything that takes three clicks will always take three clicks. You'll never be able to switch to a tiling window manager for the afternoon. I won't bother listing Windows' shortcomings. And under Linux you will always run into things like Skype that are broken and not worth the trouble of fixing, because you aren't in college anymore and you have real work to do. If I had to do a lot of work on the road, I think I would have to get a Windows or Mac laptop and set up a Linux VM for doing real work. Otherwise I'd go crazy and start carrying two laptops (and forget about ever getting another date.)