What would be a good notebook to buy?

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I'm doing a digree next year in IT, and I wonder if anyone here has some advice in purchasing a notebook computer.

I'm looking for a good, reasonably new notebook within the low-to-middle price range ($500 to $1500).

What is the best brand?

What is the best CPU?

Do I need a secondary battery?

Are there any other essential things I need with the notebook? (besides carrybag and AC adapter)

http://www.apple.com/ibook/

costs only 999 dollars

I'd say that an ibook or powerbook is probably the best notebook. If you insist on going with a windows machine, I'd say IBM, but the apple laptops are probably the best choice if you want a notebook.

You probably don't need a seccond battery. It'd probably be handy, but you really can get at least 3.5 hours out of an ibook (i'm probably giving too low of an estimate).

Hey, I'm probably going to be in the market soon too.
I would like to keep it cheap though.

Alex, why do you prefer Apple?
I have been looking at the ibooks, but they are comparatively more pricey.

I have photoshop for windows. Is there a way for me to run it on the ibook or would I need to buy new software?

i recommend apple too, spacemonkey. the operating system is way more secure than windows and it also does things in a much smarter way, making for a more stable, better performing operating system and a great user experience.

For normal use, an ibook should meet your needs. If you're a power user, get a powerbook. if you have any extra money, get more RAM. Extra battery depends on how often you need to use it without plugging it in.

you can't run photoshop for windows on a mac. i don't even think you can run it through virtual pc. there is a mac version too, but it costs the same amt. as the windows version.

I've got the 12" ibook. I'm a mac user anyway, but I'm happy with it. The advantage of macs is you're unlikely to have to deal with viruses or buy software to deal with them. The only drawbacks I find are related to watching DVDs - the sound quality is poor and it's a very small screen and also software is more expensive for macs but I don't buy a lot of it anyway.

You don't need to buy an A/C adaptor, it's part of the package. I just downloaded a (basic) freeware photo editor. ibook comes with the usual writing program Appleworks which also has some spreadsheet and draw/paint functions, Iphoto, IDVD and Imovie (but you have to choose whether you want a dvd burner or not - more expensive), also has Garage Band and a couple of games I almost never play, the skateboard one and a shooter.

I generally agree with what people have to say about Apple notebooks, as they
are generally better systems all around. However, my doubts with Apple these days stem from the fact that Apple announced that they are going to be swtiching over to an Intel CPU next year.

I have no Idea of what Intel CPU they plan to use, and have no Idea of how the internals of these new Apple computers are going to be from normal x-86 computers, as well as how Legacy (Read Current) Mac Applications will run on these. --If you plan on keeping this computer for several years, I might want to consider an Intel based computer from the start.

Unfortunately, If you plan on running some form of Windows on your system, much of what people say about them is true, in the fact that Windows is much less secure, and much more prone to Virus/Spyware/trojan issues, due to the fact that this is a much more popular OS.

In short though, If you plan on getting a notebook, get a name brand that is recognised worlwide, IE, Dell, Toshiba, HP, IBM , as support for thses brands is much more comprehensive, as well as much more readily available worldwide. --For what it's worth, Apple also has good Tech support as well.

If you are going to get an x-86 based computer, I would want to suggest either an Intel Centrino based notebook as these tend to have the best battery life of all x-86 notebooks.

If your not concerned with Battery life, and more concerned with Computing power, I would suggest a AMD64 system.

For what it's worth, ALL notebooks that I know of come with an AC adapter as standard equipment. 12v Auto adapters, on the other hand are optional equipment.

Added Thursday, July 28, 10:57 AM EST.

I'd also like to point out that most of the computers that IT people are running will be some form of x86 processor. While it appears that the next generation of Intel based Macs will beable to run Windows, you are looking for a computer at least 6 months to a year before the x86 based Macs will be ready. Much as I like Macs, I would suggest that you get a windows laptop, and if possible, do a FRESH install of XP Pro. --Hopefully the computer that you get will NOT have an OEM version of XP on disk.

I just bought a notebook. It is a compaq presario M2000 notebook.

It contains: -

An AMD Sempron 2800+ (1.6Ghz w'th 200Mb L2 cache)

256Mb DDR Ram

40 Gb Hard Disk

15" tft screen

Integrated Modem/LAN/WLAN

DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo

An expansion port , a nine-pin female SVGA port, 2 USB ports, 1 Firewire port, 1 compact flash port.

A QWERTY keyboard w'th quick buttons

A touchpad

8-cell batery with AC adapter port

Windows XP Home (I reinstalled it with my own copy of Professional - trust me, it's a legal copy), plus some addionional freebie software (Encata '05 is good)

for $1094 before $100 cashback.

Thanks for the replies

I take back my recommendation of an ibook. Mine has been crashing a lot and I've just had to take it to the shop to be fixed. I never had any problems fixing crashes on OS 8 and 9. It's less than a year old. They are a bit cheap and rubbishy.

Edit: I just heard from the tech guy and apparently it's a faulty logic board, The type has also worn off the letter E. I've had the computer less than 12 months, so it's not impressive. There was also a battery recall on some of my model ibook.