Linux-ish Laptop Question

[Dan O'Donovan]

Dear BLU, 

I've promised the Mrs. a lovely new laptop for her to do some serious thesis writing on, and before making a large $ jump I thought I might take the time to sound out the BLU. I say linux-ish as she will definitely be running Windows 7 + Office on it for the first few months, but I'm hoping that when she's done I can get a go and install a real OS. 

So - I'd ideally like to get a machine with a good keyboard that doesn't 'look like arse' as one learned colleague might put it. Decent linux support would be great, but I'm used to getting my hands dirty with custom kernels + drivers. I would like to push for the good keyboard part though - typing for hours on cheap and nasty keys is *not* nice. She's been using my Happy Hacker keyboard for the last six months so is used to the good life!

Another friend strongly suggested the Lenovo thinkpad, but it seems that neither Micro Centre nor Best Buy have these in stock. I'd ideally like to see the machine in person before splashing out (and cost is obviously an issue, but I'm feeling reasonable). 

So - ramble over, what are your laptop recommendations? 

Thanks, Dan

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Dan O'Donovan