[aye]

> On hardware that is near top-of-the-line and thus poorly supported.

Haha, there's got to be a name for that paradox: you want to run Linux on your brand new computer, but the hardware isn't well supported.

Do you:

a) Settle for a Linux install that sometimes does weird things (on my Lenovo Yoga 2, I have to close the laptop lid and re-open it to get the computer to come back from suspend properly).

b) Settle for Windows 8?

Unless you've got the time to write your own device drivers, the MBA is the most "rational" choice for a new laptop. (IBM pun not intended.)