So for "developer-tier" laptops, i.e. not a netbook, does that pretty much leave Apple as the sole non-shit laptop maker? Is there a chromebook out there that runs linux pretty well if you pull chromeOS off?
You pay a hefty premium for that backlit Apple logo on the lid, and I'd prefer to get something a little more down-to-earth.
For laptops, at least, I buy them and use them until they die.
I've only owned three laptops in my life.
There's a whole world of bad software engineering in that observation!
Precision M4800, for example.
15", i7-4710MQ, Nvidia Quadro K100M 2GB, 4K screen, AC wireless, 512GB SSD for around $2500, about similar to the high end rMBP 15" (yes, I know there are things the rMBP has, just as there are things the Precision has - it's 'comparable', not 'identical').