I think that one of the most useful developments of the past couple of years has been bootable USB sticks. Not just "LiveUSB" sticks, from which you can actually run Linux, although those are ...
I switch between computers a lot, so I use a persistent Linux USB that keeps my workspace consistent anywhere.
Due to the recent unfortunate demise of a couple of my computers I found myself in need of a new laptop on rather short notice. I found an Acer Aspire 5 on sale at about half price here in Switzerland ...