One mountain bike is easily done, esp with the 2011 offerings (scratch, range). That's my plan. At one point 6 bikes were in my basement and I couldn't believe it… road, commuter, fr, ht, dj, am fully…
The new rigs look like they fit the bill quite nicely. A bike you can ride up fromme or burke and rip down on the weekdays and take to the park for some slightly less than "no fear 18-22 year old I bounce when I hit the ground" rippin.
THAT being said, I will never own just one bike. I ride skateparks when I'm not injured and I commute, so that's two. But one do-it-all mountain bike is something I can visualize.
As for warranty and service - learn to take care of the mechanical stuff yourself. Warranty doesn't take long and if you're really sad about the 2 weeks you missed out on splurge on some lights and go for a bicycle ride in the fall.
I am contemplating the Norco Range. It fits the bill for a do-it-all and Norco is close enough that I won't be dealing with US bike manu lag-time for any warranty issues.