Recommended laptop for making music??

I just read 'is mac worth the extra money' and I retract my statement on prefering a 'mac like' laptop prehaps it is style more than substance that attracts me to such.
The reason I can't use my old laptop is because it is now outdated and they do not have the parts for it. I think this is bad business especially considering the environmental issues we face today. I want to find a company where their components are more universal and having a laptop for lets say 8-10 years would not be an absurd idea. I do not like this throw away culture we live in today!

Actually, using a notebook for 8-10 years is pretty unreasonable. After that amount of time, the nature of notebook components makes them pretty unreliable. Upgrading is also a very difficult task on a notebook - they aren't designed to be as such. Configurations and layouts are not standardized like they are on desktop computers - thus, pretty much all of the components in any given notebook today are specific to that notebook's line; once a new line comes into production, everything is thrown out the window. While this may seem disadvantageous to you, it's great for the manufacturer - making it difficult to upgrade forces you to buy a new one faster! It's just the way the market operates.

As for your notebook, you can get a basic machine for $600. I'd start suggesting models, but I have one question you haven't answered; do you need any special interface (Firewire, PCMCIA, etc) for your notebook, concerning your music production? Also, are you sure Windows 7 (which will likely come with your notebook) is compatible with any digital hardware you'll be using?

Unfortunately, I can't find a notebook with firewire for under $600. Very few notebooks carry the interface nowadays, especially cheaper ones. I'll continue looking, but it's looking pretty bleak, at the moment.

Also I looked up the PCMCIA and it isn't a necessary feature as I have a usb Universal card reader.
Also does anyone know what companies are more reliable for creative purposes, using several programs at once. I don't play games nor care to watch movies on this but for photo editing purposes I will need a decent resolution.
So far I have been looking at IBM and Dell is this a good direction to go in??

Then I must misunderstand what PCMCIA is. yes it is a memory card reader, which is all I need really to use with my 4- track recorder. If I use older video editing programs that would probably be the only way I could use a notebook.
Does anyone know how you can get older versions of software?
So there is a way to adapt a firewire port to laptop, someone told me you could only do that on a desktop??