For various reasons, I’ve decided that it’s time to start thinking about a new laptop for the web business.  It would make presentations a lot easier; my current laptop is getting long in the tooth and can be slow to start.  Yesterday I embarrassed myself by having to wait 2-3 minutes for the thing to boot, only to have to fuss with the screen resolution in order to get it to display properly on the provided projector.  (Note to self:  boot the machine before going into the room.)  No big deal, but when you’re standing in a room full of potential clients talking technology, it doesn’t help your pitch any.

What to look for in a laptop?  I’m obviously mulling this over already, so I might as well share my thoughts for criticism and laughs.  I realize that the perfect system probably isn’t out there, and some of my requirements are a little bit contradictory.  But, this is the feature set that I’m hoping to come away with (in no particular order):

*Average screen size and reasonably light weight.  I don’t want a 10-pound behemoth.  However, I DO require a reasonably standard size keyboard, and the screen has to be big enough to work on when necessary (code, presentations, whatever).  This is the first of several requirements that will rule out pretty much all of the “netbook” class.

*Fast processor, preferably 64 bit.  I don’t really have a stunning argument for 64 bit other than the fact that it can address 4GB+ of memory, where 32 bit can’t do more than 3GB or so without tricks.  I’ve been successfully using 64 bit on my desktop in the home office, so I’m not too concerned about compatibility or what-have-you at this point.  Which leads us to item no. 3.

*At least 4GB of RAM.  I don’t like to wait.

*Large hard drive; the bigger the better.  Waaaay back when I got my current laptop, it came with a 60GB hard drive, and I thought that would be all I’d ever need for the life of the laptop.  Ha, ha, stupid me.  Plus, I’d like to dual boot it, so I’ll need plenty of space to comfortably support both systems.  That’s right, dual boot…I want to run Ubuntu on this puppy, too.  That is what I run in the home office and I’m happy with it, so I’d like to stick with it.  However, sometimes Windows is required for various projects, so I need access to it, as well.  Yes, I could run Windows in a VM on Ubuntu (or vice versa), but I prefer to run natively for the time being.  Item no. 5 will give you a clue as to why.

*External VGA support.  I’m certainly not a seasoned road warrior and I don’t do presentations every day.  However, I do them fairly often these days and have hooked up to a few different projectors.  I have seen one or two that have DVI inputs; I have never seen a projector with HDMI, though they may be out there.  Without fail, though, every projector I’ve used has had a VGA input available.  So, I need one of those, or a conversion to it from something else.  What does that have to do with running Windows natively (see item 4)?  I’ve read a few horror stories here and there about people trying to connect to projectors with their linux laptops while the whole world watches.  No doubt that has improved in past months like everything else in linux, but I don’t want to find out the hard way that I can’t light up a potential client’s projector.  So, I need that Windows safety blanket.

*Plenty of USB connections and preferably a serial port, though that’s not an absolute necessity.  Obviously, Ethernet and built-in wifi are gimme’s.

*Widescreen LCD.  I can work on a 4:3 display if necessary, but more real estate is better.

*Long battery life.  It’d be nice to be able to do a presentation without having to worry about power adapters or available outlets.

So, there you go…I want a humongous widescreen laptop with desktop-level performance and features, full connectivity and long battery life, all weighing less than a sheet of paper.  Is that too much to ask?!?