Mike, there is one way to find out. I will definately be giving it a try.
The one thing that keeps me away from Linux is the fact that you cant get much software for it.
This link has really caught my attention because they claim it has similar architacture as win XP and NT.
Since they are also distributing the source code it could mean that you could have a stand along version of Mach that you could boot straight into.
This will be an interesting experiment.
Thats for highlighting the link.