Just to recap

It was like opening Pandora's box... asking for advice/comments/rants/raves on the notebook-issue. Thanks everyone for your reactions!
To recap a little and answer a few questions:

* Dell doesn't sell the 700M in The Netherlands :-( Thanks for the tip, though, KV!
* Apple... well, hmm... what can I say. If they made a prize for the sexiest computer around, the Powerbook (or it's little cousing the iBook) would win it handsdown! And I like the fact that they offer discounts to students (God knows we can use 'em ;-) But I worry about the compatibility with the LBS network (no support for Apple, although I've heard anecdotal evidence that there are students with Apple's and they work fine) and with my current gadgets. So after much doubt Apple's out.
* IBM --> posters have commented on their sturdy-ness and robustness. True, true. But do they make me want one? No. And call me stupid, but for nearly 2000 euros, I want something I really WANT (part of my five-star theory that no doubt I will feel compelled to elaborate about at a later stage).
* External hard-disks: yes, most definitely! Although I'm not quite decided on which one, I'll definitely get an external hard drive to make backups.
* Tablet PC: haven't really looked into them, but that's more my own personal bias than anything else. I keep on thinking that the less moving parts a notebook has the better. Although I am very interested in trying out mindmapping for which a tablet pc would be fab.

So, for now I'm decided on the Asus W5, and to my great joy, I saw a good review on Notebookreview.com (which I recommend heartily for a motherload of information on notebooks) today.

More news on the gadget front: after MBAEurope got his, I've bought myself a PDA too, the HP RX3715. I've talked to a few people at b-schools and most seem to be avid users of PDA's and I've been waiting for 2,5 years for a good excuse like this. After watching prices for a while, I got one this week. I've already put some software on it (including Skype of course), but if you've got any tips for more stuff, please drop me a line.

On an LBS note, Businessweek has a special MBA section, of which I like the MBA journals best. They're weblogs of a sort (weblogs avant la lettre), and provide a good insight into 'real' life at b-schools. For LBS there's MBA2006 Martin Zalewski , who if all else fails (I doubt that though) has a promising career as a writer!

[edit 1. Still on track for my attempt to enter in the Guiness Book of Records as the one and only person in the Western Hemisphere who hasn't yet read any of the Harry Potter books or seen any of the movies (there are multiple, aren't there?)! Another Harry Potter coming out tonight at midnight apparently, wishing everyone who's going to read it lots of pleasure!]

[edit 2. To bring a smile on your face, have a look at this post by Drifting Life.]