Thank you, what should I look for in a laptop? Also I have been looking at a up envy with a i7 processor 17.3' screen with 12gb ram and 1tb of storage. Is this going to stay up to date for programming?
if your company is going to be replacing its PLC's every year then and only then will you need your laptop to "stay up to date'
in a lot of cases we are still using windows XP and VMware
Again Most of us are using Windows 7 premium or ultimate
So far what I have seen of Windows 8 or 8.1 - not very good
A touch screen is a pain in the butt
As far as RAM most of us have 4~8GB for now we will not need more.
but expandability is still a great Idea.
Apple - not really used with PLC's yet.
i7 processor - used more for gaming
I find i5 or even i3 is OK
at least 500gb hard drive
(do not allow your IT guys to split this drive - it
will cause problems later)
DVD read/write drive
- Blue ray is not required
17.5" screen - Magnificent but too big to carry around
15" is adequate
Extas - I would recommend some extras
1. Wifi Mouse & keyboard
2. 22" monitor (for CAD dwg etc)
3. some 8gb memory sticks
4. portable hard drive (backup etc)
5. Priner access
KEYSPAN USB-RS232 Converter
(avoid the cheap ones as they do let you down)
Also
I/net access will be needed
so a good virus protection software is needed
EDIT
I missread Kens Last Post
most software is still 32 bit so - you may consider swapping Hard drives (or VMware) should you need both 64bit and 32 bit.
the 64 bit programs are not easily backwardly compatible
the