Taking a bite

out of this Apple ...
I'm trying to make up my mind which laptop to buy (I've long since passed the stage of asking myself IF I need a laptop ;-), there are apparently plenty of desktops on LBS campus, but I'm too much of a control freak to depend on those) and I've narrowed it down to the following (random order):

* Asus W5. Very sleek and sexy, with integrated camera, good specs, also comes in white, comes with mouse, memory stick and bag, only 1,6 kgs a bit pricey;
* Apple Powerbook 12 inch. Again sleek and sexy, not too pricey (student discount), good specs, good performance, 2,1 kgs, but will it be compatible with the LBS network (have heard anecdotal evidence it will, but I'm a bit hesitant;
* IBM T42 or T43. Good reputation, reasonable specs, sturdy, the heaviest of the three at 2,3 kgs.

Must haves:
* good specifications (Centrino processor, or Apple G4, minimum 40 Gb harddrive, 512 MB, bluetooth, preferably infrared, wireless internet, CD or DVD burner);
* reasonable price;
* trackpad (which rules out X40, I need a trackpad, can't survive on just that red thingy in the middle of my keyboard);
* portability (preferably 2 kgs or less);
* screen size: 12 or 14 inch.
Where does that leave sleek and sexy (see the descriptions of asus and apple above)? Hmmm, it wouldn't sway me to or from a machine, but I am a girl and I like stuff to look nice AND work well.

The specs that LBS gives as a guideline are pretty reasonable, nothing high end here (note: no special deals with companies so you can get discounts):

1.Pentium 4M Centrino processor for best combination of performance and battery life.
2.Minumum 512mb RAM; 1GB preferable
3.Wireless network that supports 802.11b and 128-bit encryption
4.Ethernet socket (to connect to School wired network - optional).
5.CD/RW+ – invest in a CD writer as a back-up tool.
6.Microsoft Office (MS Word, MS Excel & MS PowerPoint) – if this is not bundled with the machine, be sure to purchase at the education discount price.
7.Mulitple USB2 sockets – memory keys are an excellent way to transfer large files between machines.
8.International Warranty – be sure the warranty will be recognised in the UK and does not require return to the country where purchased.
9.Power transformer that handles 220-240 UK power supply.

I know I'm probably opening Pandora's box here, but can anyone offer recommendations? Experiences with any of these machines above? Any good advice? Rants, raves?

On a related note, I envy you guys in the US... I see all these coupons for discounts flying around, good deals on US sites, and I can't use 'em. I *LOVE* the fact that on the US IBM site you can configure your notebook. Why can't us Europeans have that????

[edit 1: forgot to mention: today we got our first 'real' assignment, a self-assessment for the GLAM (cool name! it stands for Global Leadership Assessment for Managers) course which is part of the core courses. I know that some people don't really care for these kind of courses, which are labelled by them 'touchy-feely'. I love 'em. The same way I love self-help books. All excited now :-)]