Ask HN: Which is the best prog. laptop (battery, Linux Hardware support etc.)?
Hello Readers, I want to have a really good machine for my programming needs. Just wanted your input as to which laptop is really the best for the purpose. I cannot afford a Mac (yet!) and my budget is just about a 1000$. I mostly program in Python and C++.<p>Thanks for your comments.
Comments
I wouldn't be worried about what laptop you have - I generally find it's better to buy cheap stuff and replace it often (I tend to stay about 1-2 years behind the best in PC's for example and buy a new one each year, selling the old one on ebay to cover part of the cost).
The only hardware aspect worth thinking about with a laptop for coding is how big a screen you will be getting - get the largest you can afford so that you can see as many lines of code as possible.
Try http://www.linux-laptop.net to make sure you get something you can run your favourite Linux distro on.
Shop around for a Thinkpad, you can occasionally find a batch of them off a corporate lease, which can be a real bargain (half what you'd pay for a new laptop of equivalent specs).
If you cannot buy a new Mac (or better still a Mac Book Pro) why not try and get a used one from eBay? $1000 should get you something fairly decent.
Lenovo
Anything from ASUS.