Seems that roughly every 4 years I consider which laptop to buy and use. In 2008 I switched from a Panasonic CF-W2 to a Macbook Air.  At the time I was on my second Panasonic and I had been using each for roughly 4 years. The CF-W2s were lightweight, rugged and chock full of features. In 2012 I considered switching from my Macbook Air but instead bought a replacement one. That was four years ago and I have now been on a Macbook for 8 years.

My current Macbook Air is showing signs of aging. The T key cap keeps popping off. The battery needs maintenance. The camera occasionally flakes out. The lid doesn’t quite close from that one time I dropped the machine (onto the street, so I was happy that this was all the damage there was). I am definitely getting ready to buy a new laptop.

Last time in 2012 I had expressed my interest in an “experiment, which would be to find the nicest non Apple laptop and run Linux + Chrome/Firefox on it.” I didn’t go through with at the time, but my interest in a potential experiment has grown. It seems, however, that the more likely candidate for my next laptop would be a Windows 10 machine. 

The ones I have started to look at include the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, the Asus Zenbook 3, and the Acer Swift 7. These machines are in size and weight closer to the Macbook, which I am also considering. Since I take my laptop with me everywhere I travel, lobbing off nearly another pound of weight makes a big difference. If I go with a Windows 10 machine, I will most likely run a virtual environment for development work, probably using Vagrant (and I might start doing that on Mac OS in any case).

If you have experience with any of the above machines, or have another recommendation, I would love to hear from you! There is of course also the default option of just buying another Macbook Air (and if you are firmly in that camp I would like to hear the argument for that also). Thanks!