I got one of the original Linux Dells with Ubuntu on it back in the day, and it was a nice effort, actually. I opened up the box, fired it up, and it was a fairly standard Ubuntu that I kept using without having to fiddle with it all. It was a very pleasant experience, and sold me on Dell. I'll be in the market for a new laptop next summer, so hopefully this goes well. My big worry is finding another machine with a screen like this one (1920x1200, 15"), as I've gotten used to the screen real estate.