I need a new laptop

In terms of collecting computing hardware I rank somewhere around the non-existent.  I'm not one of these nutjobs with 9 monitors and a 32-CPU server in their bedroom.  All I have, currently comissioned, is a 2-year-old 20" iMac and a 18-month old 13.3" MacBook.

As you can see, I don't hold much truck with Windows.  I'd use Linux/Solaris/etc., but I don't need to, Mac OS X is Unixey enough (indeed, it's even a certified Unix since 10.5) as it is.

But this occasionally leads me to problems; like when I was trying to test WalkDB on IE6/7/8.  It does make sense for my computing equipment to be a little more diverse.

Also, the MacBook has largely failed to impress me, especially recently, there's something wrong with it but I don't know what.  Everytime the CPU usages goes above 20% it freezes for a good thirty seconds then begins to work again, it's impossible to do much real work with it.  Plus there's something wrong with the power supply: when it's switched on my arm hairs spontaneously stand on end, even if I'm standing on the other side of the room.

All in all, I'm in no particular rush to replace the MacBook with another MacBook (although the newer ones look much better designed); but the random freezings are a symptom of a bigger problem, probably an impending hard disk failure.  But it's not even worth fixing that due to the dodgy power supply.

So what to do?

The simple answer, albeit against my principals, would be to get a Windows laptop.  They're cheaper, it means I've covered more bases with regard to future testing of my various projects, etc.  It sounds quite sensible; on paper.

But there are two flaws: 1) if I chose a Windows based laptop, it means that when I'm away from home I'll have no choice but to run Windows - the horror; 2) I'll have to be careful with development environments, etc., to make sure it's fully cross-platform.

It would make more sense if I replaced the iMac with a Windows machine.  That way I'd never end up with Windows being my only choice, and I could easily leave it running 24/7 with a Linux virtual machine allowing for more testing.  But the flaw here is that the iMac is fine, it's the MacBook that's knackered.

As with most things in life: it's not easy, it really isn't easy.