.NET on any platform? even Linux?

I’m no micro$oft lover, but now that I’m learning VB.NET and my livelihood depends on it, I’ve fallen into thinking that I’d never really be able to get back to Mac OS or have the chance to try out  Linux.

I’m taking a Linux course now and becoming more and more enticed by Ubuntu into reformatting my hard-drive to make way for a dual boot system.  But I still feel tied to XP simply because of Visual Studio and .NET.

Thus, in my reading, I encounter MONO.

Mono provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix. Sponsored by Novell (http://www.novell.com), the Mono open source project has an active and enthusiastic contributing community and is positioned to become the leading choice for development of Linux applications.

I’m really amazed that none of my teachers knew of this.  In fact, my Java teacher proudly boasted that Java was superior to all .NET languages (in part) because of its system independence.

Now, if only I can find a decent IDE for VB.NET that will run on Linux!

… suggestions ?