>>35 Laptops are a different matter -- the BIOS and hardware on them may in fact be designed to handle a PS/2 device being plugged in.

Desktops however are another matter.

>>34 Because it doesn't screw up like Windows does? The only thing Linux needs to reboot for is...:

• Changing the root device (as it's not possible to umount /)
• Upgrading kernels (kexec has a long way to go dispite having started way back in Kernel 2.2 days, and is x86-specific)
• Upgrading non-hotpluggable hardware
• In the case of a serious kernel oops, which is very rare.

Windows typically needs reboots whenever you move the mouse. ;-) Well okay, that's an exxageration. You typically reboot for all of the above reasons... plus...

• Installing device drivers
• Installing some applications
• Under Win95/98: Changing network settings (IP addresses, etc)
• Changing the workgroup or domain (Linux/Unix can typically only need to restart Samba)
• Altering some advanced settings in the system registry

...and I'll bet there's even more.