If I were in your situation, I’d stick with a Thinkpad. They are expensive, but IMHO worth the price as they are rugged, reliable, and repairable. In general, Linux distress run well on their hardware. Another good option is a Panasonic Toughbook which are admittedly bulkier and expensive but you can get one with a built-in handle so you look like you work for the CIA/NSA and use it as a blunt-force protection device (I’m sure Katja knows).

Examples of both can be found used with decent prices (US vendor, but gives you an idea of institutional refurbished market):

* Newegg refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad
* Newegg refurbished Panasonic Toughbook

As for audio interfaces, I agree with those that say stick with a USB-compliant device. I am still using aRoland UA-25 which is from mid-2000s and is USB 1.0 compliant. It works full stereo duplex with everything, included iOS, without drivers etc. In fact, I bought a UA-25ex used for $100 as a backup a coulee years ago.

Fancy stuff like MOTUs are really *nice* but far too reliant on proprietary drivers. I believe USB 2.0 should have enough bandwidth for 8 channel output. Unlike Firewire, we can be pretty sure USB will be supported for the foreseeable future, albeit through probably 10 different dongles/adapters. Plus, you’ll know if you want to work with other Ohs in the future, the device will probably keep working.

On Mar 23, 2017, at 2:24 AM, pd-list-request@lists.iem.at wrote:

From: João Pais <jmmmpais@gmail.com>
Subject: [PD] Laptop + interface suggestion
Date: March 23, 2017 at 1:51:36 AM MDT


Dear list,

I'm looking to buy new laptop and a matching audio interface for daily use + audio performance/programming (not video). I would be interested to know what are the current trends nowadays, and what experiences you have.

My current setup is:
- windows 10 (won't change)
- Lenovo X61s (I'm a bit of a fanboy for ibm/lenovo)
- RME multiface (still with pcmcia card)

I would be looking for a similar setup:
- a robust laptop where to run w10. The less weight the better, even if it sacrifices some performance.
- which audio interfaces are used nowadays, compared with the multiface? E.g. with at least 8 analog outlets (I don't need that many inlets), and also a digital outlet. Also the less weight and size the better - a half-case size such as the multiface is quite convenient.
- the computer will be used for day-to-day activities: office, notation (sibelius/finale), and Pd audio programming. No games or too taxing environments, so some features such as a high-power graphics card or the latest ssd disk should be necessary.

Best regards,

Joao

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Dan Wilcox
@danomatika
danomatika.com
robotcowboy.com