We are looking at those Toughbooks. Also, the 8 hour battery time makes this an unicorn hunt. That is, the battery will age so to get 8 hours at one year old we need a laptop that started at 16 hours to take account for battery wear.
NO Touchpad has been acceptable by anyone I know.
While I think the usual top 10 lists are fine, your list pushes it into the hunt for unicorns.
-> Some new to this folk think that such is out there. If so, your school will have a list of machines that fit your uni's requirements.
Bob
I'm preparing to leave for college after years of living at home and relying on my home-built desktop. I'm looking for a laptop with the following characteristics, preferably for under $500, although my maximum budget is actually $1000. I have no laptop-buying experience.
-durable, long lifespan (I'd like it to last for at least 4 years)
-long battery life (at least 8 hours)
-small, lightweight, portable (something that would fit comfortably on an airplane tray table)
-keyboard/touchpad that will make schoolwork comfortable
-CPU, GPU, and memory powerful enough to handle Linux (probably Arch), Eclipse IDE and other programming-related software, movies, etc. (no games)
Any advice?

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