What I have done with the laptop rebuild wasn't overly difficult, but it flows. From login to logout (not that I ever "logout"), the entire user experience is one of chi. Whether I am working on the base o/s xterm's or making identical changes simultaneously in my ubuntu session, or even doing those reprehensible things which require internet explorer, the entire process is layered transparency. With a trick of identical backgrounds and login screens, everything just seems to float in place - adjacent one another, atop one another, yet multiple environments doing vastly different things, simultaneously. The only thing that slows me down now is the laptop proc (an old core-duo) and memory (4GB). Perhaps I could find a 7200rpm external array to utilize as my offboarded vmfarm?
Of course this looks spectacular on a dual-monitor setup, what with all these discrete operating environments adjacent each other. I really didn't think I could be more productive than I was, but sometimes I amaze even myself. I've been taking two laptops to DR, only this new setup is both more flexible, and less bulky - the things I can touch simultaneously fascinates me, all done through a set of secure silos which never overlap - unless they need to.
This year I bring only a single laptop, and run these three operating systems at the same time: