With a new employee coming on board soon at work, my company gave me the go ahead to get a new laptop so that my current - which is only 5 or so months old - can go to the new guy.  Given the move by our lead developer following several snafus with Dell’s XPS line and tech support, I went with a Sony VAIO Z-series laptop.  It’s incredibly sleek and lightweight and still packs a helluva punch for development purposes.  The only negative that I’ve found against VAIOs is the Apple-esque “brand tax” that you end up paying for those four letters on the edge of the lid: S O N Y.  

The task ahead of me now, unfortunately, is getting everything installed so that I’m back to a development-ready state by Monday.