Squeak Smalltalk wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I will change job soon and I have to decide which type of laptop I want.
> I have always had pc-laptops.
> But I see that a lot of ruby programers use powerbooks.
> 
> If you use a powerbook give me some advice ?
> 
> Best Regards
> W.

A couple of comments:

- Mac laptops are generally more expensive than their Windows 
counterparts for the equivalent computer.

- If you're a posix/unix type of guy, Mac OS X is a GUI on top of unix. 
   With windows, if you want a posix environment, cygwin and its X 
server isn't hard to set up  and works well for most things (and comes 
with ruby, vim, emacs... all the same stuff you get with OS X).

- In my opinion, mac laptops don't come in high enough resolution (their 
17" is 1440 x 900, their 15" is 1280 x 854, whereas you can get a Dell 
with a 15.4" 1920 x 1200 screen).  If you don't like small fonts, this 
almost certainly doesn't matter to you.

- You *could* buy a Windows machine and make it dual-boot with linux.  I 
don't recommend this, but it's an option.

- Where I work, Apple, Dell, and IBM laptops all seem to have equivalent 
reliability.

So, I'd go to a store where I can play with Windows laptops and Mac 
laptops and see which interface you want.  Most common software packages 
can be found for both platforms.

	Good luck,
	  Charles

p.s. In any case, I'd consider the extended warranty.  If something goes 
wrong with a desktop, you replace the component yourself.  If something 
goes wrong with a laptop, you're hosed.