Removed Xubuntu 9.10 and just upgraded to Open Suse 11.3 on my laptop, installed from the DVD, I got with the latest edition of Linux Magazine, well October 2010, but it is a while before we get the Linux magazines in Australia. The installation was pretty painless and when you boot up, it asks for the LUKS passphrase to decrypt the root filesystem and you are set. Setting up my GSM mobile broadband dongle was so easy and fast using Network Manager, it was easier than setting up Windows, not needing to track down and install all of the various drivers to get everything working. I am currently installing the codecs for DVD playback and MP3 support, then I will be able to watch my Heroes Season one DVD set. I am not sure if Windows can use an encrypted root filesystem in an LVM volume like Linux can, but it is the utmost security in case your laptop is stolen and you had sensitive data on the hard disk.
Not a problem, unless the TSA thugs pull you aside and want to search your laptop, then would you be pressured into giving them the passcode? The encrypted volume cannot be accessed without it. I am sure they would push for laws allowing them to search computers for illegal content, they are always treating the everyday citizen as a terrorist instead of going after the real terrorists, but that is a fact of life in America nowadays. FOX news is always sensationalising the issues of the day and making it out to be more than it is.