In the US a lot of business use them. It's not uncommon to see a pallet of "old" ThinkPads at the swapmeet selling for less than $200. We're talking x1 Carbons. These machines have upgradable SSDs, Wifi, and battery. For less than $300 you can get a BEAST of a machine that runs Linux very very well.
Last time I called a cab I was charged $20 to come to my house and pick me up. After that it was another charge to go where I needed. That's a cost you don't need to pay if you're just hailing a cab in the city.
It's been a few years but Scrivener used to be almost perfect under wine. According to the AppDB it still looks like a good chance of being a pleasant experience.
The last version of Windows I used (and loved) was Windows 2000. It was rock solid and came with nothing but the basics. The install ISO was only 300 MB. 500 MB after service packs were merged. Almost pefect.
Realistically, no. Your just kinda born that way. You might not be aware of your sexual identity but it's in there. Some people take years to "come-out" to themselves. Often there's denial from years in internalized homophobia.
Anti-Chinese propaganda is still strong I see.