- Remove the function keys, remove escape, and all other ancient stuff like Sys Rq and Pause / Break, remove arrow keys, remove Page Up etc. Swap the places of the trackpad and the keyboard so the keyboard is closer to me and the mouse is farther away. I use the former most of the time, and it's more ergonomical that way.
- No moving parts; have a 64GB SSD disk, a 4-8GB RAM, a decent CPU that supports virtualisation, open-source compatible hardware (i.e. run any Linux and any BSD systems on it, OpenBSD for me, especially), no cam or mic, generally no recording devices, have a decent speaker, USB ports, two jacks, one for the mic one for the earphones.
- Thin, light, 15.6"-13" in size.
- Battery that guarantees me at least 3-4 hrs of time, under load. Weight or thinness can be compromised to achieve that.