Which laptop should I go for? (college)

[aakerman]

Hi! I have just begun my studies - in 5 years, I will hopefully become an "engineer of data-technology"

My fellow students inform us, that a laptop would be a wise investment - so I have been browsing the net for the last couple of days.
We will be using it over the next 5 years, for lots and lots of programming (Java mostly, but other stuff too), complex mathematics (a prog called Mathematica), physics, electronics (among other things an HC11 emulator, which is supposedly cpu-taxing). Quite possibly some graphics too, not 3D CAD though 8(

I am very interested in the centrino technology, because I dred the notebooks my parents have, I can't even work like 1.5 hours, before I need to find an electrical outlet again! The wireless 802.11b is also interesting, as we will be getting a wireless broadband connection soon - but I am afraid that in a year's time or so, the 802.11a/g technology will be the standard, or something even better - and then I would be lost with my fossil-like 802.11b card

I would have gone for a radeon9600 solution, but I already have a stationary 1.5ghz XP computer, that I use for games, so I guess I don't really need that, and besides - notebooks are too small for serious gaming (right?)

Can anyone recommend me any models, or tell me if there are new breakthroughs lurking just around the corner, that I should wait for? Thx in advance.

 

[aakerman]

oh, btw - I will be typing a lot I guess (doing homework in between classes), so a comfortable keyboard would be a requisite too, I guess? I'm doing alright on this one though.....(targa visionary 1ghz celly)

 

[OldSpooky]

The IBM ThinkPad T40 is a nice machine with a great keyboard. I know a few people with T2x and T30 series machines, and most everyone swears by them.

The ThinkPad X series is also nice if you need something really lightweight.

IBM systems are kind of expensive though. If you don't want to pay a lot of $, the Dell Latitude D series is fairly well made, although I really dislike the keyboards on those.

 

[thuned]

I think it would be wiser to get something cheap so you can replace it half way through your studies. Even if you get a top of the line right now, in 3-4 years, it's going to act like what a your parents notebook act today. I mean, in 2-3 years, I imagine speed would be at least 4-5ghz, have 7200rpm+ drives, last 6-7hrs+, weighs sub 5lbs for about the same cost as notebooks today.
Of course, if you're "old school" and are still using winxp, you wouldn't need 4-5ghz; but hey, more battery life and less weight is always good.