I'm not too sure if you are going to do programming on Mac. As
far as I know, programming languages are suitable for nearly all
platforms, but the programs created may or may not suited for all
platforms.
If the programs created are meant for Windows, you better be sure
that the programs can be ran on Windows. In that case, I would
choose a laptop pre-installed with Windows.
As for what laptop to choose, I would choose Sony, but please
upgrade the RAM. 512MB for programming is considered the minimum
these days. It can crash a PC if there are errors in the program.
Mine did (doing Java and VB by the way).
Toshiba is a no-no. Their customer service sucks great time and is
generating enough heat to be a heater. My classmates can testify, I
use their laptops as heater in the super cold RP classroom.
