If your only requirement for interoperability between a Linux desktop and a Windows laptop is file sharing, then you have no real problem. There is a (free) software package called Samba that implements Windows filesharing on Unix machines, including Linux. Setting it up is not the easiest thing in the world, but it's also far from the hardest. There are also several utilities for Linux to do the reverse (that is, share files from the Windows laptop to the Linux desktop).

By the way, on a related note, I love this old news report: Windows NT Cripples US Navy Cruiser