hello,
sorry for the late response to this question, however I thought i was replying to the list the other day and i just replied to one of the listers, not the whole list
anyway, about the linux box, i don't think you could find a brand name company that even has a clue what linux is, let alone have systems with that on them.
I guess what i'd say is find a spare computer somewhere and take windows off and put linux on, or have someone built you one or build one, or maybe someone would have one already that they'd like to part with for cheap