Opposite here - I miss a tabbed view when I use windows explorer (as a mainly GUI user on both) In answer to the original question (in the unlikely event that anyone cares). OpenSUSE (dual boot with win98) -> Ubuntu (dua boot with XP) -> XUbuntu (thanks to unity) + Ubuntu Natty (Classic Mode, netbook)

It depends on your field, but I found that pen and paper was the only way to go - many of the more interesting points are graphical, and however fast you can type, I don't see how you can sketch as fast as with a pen - which has excellent resolution compared to on-screen freehand sketching. The same applies to formulae (or formula-like text) unless you can type fast enough to write (pseudo-)LaTeX on the fly. Many conferences have restrictions on recording (which assuming you ignore them would still mean a small subtle microphone held low), and the audio quality is often pretty bad - many speakers don't know how to project their voices or use a microphone. Put the two together and you'll record/try to trancribe more mutterings and paper rustling from the other attendees than presentation content.

Sharing an amazon account within the family for kindle content makes a lot of sense - but keep a dedicated account for the purpose.

An AC above suggested ALSA modules, but many other projects accept plugins (my first thought was the GIMP, but that uses python). Pick something that you're interested in and write something that solves a problem with that. If it's a discrete module or a plugin you'll have more chance of deploying it.