Dell seems to be flogging cheapish Linux laptops in the UK now, which might help with any replacement/upgrade that you eventually do.
(Oh, and I just exchanged email with the guys (apparently) at Intel working on the WiFi drivers for Linux, and the 'master' mode code is being worked on right now though still rather raw. This means that I can turn off my stand-alone access point (~12W) and use the one in the laptop (~1W) for other machines in the house to get at our Internet connection. Not going to save the planet, but another nice step in the right direction.)
Rgds
Damon