Looks like the best laptop out there currently for heavy duty use on the road is IBM's ThinkPad T41p (Val swears by his T40). Especially if you are travelling internationally it makes sense to use a brand where finding replacement parts is much more likely. Plus, finding upgrades down the road is likely easier. Likewise the PowerBook makes a great choice, though I prefer the ThinkPad.

Numerous reviews exist on IBM's T41p including using w/ Debian.

The T41p has been out since November 2003 and I'm waiting to see if they release the next product iteration this year. IBM had a deal on the T40/41 series w/ free additional 512MB of memory if purchased by 4/16/04.

Currently the T41p w/ Pentium M 1.7GHz, 1GB of DDR PC2700 memory, 14.1 inch SXGA+ (1400x1050), CD-RW/DVD-ROM, 802.11a/b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, 2 32-bit PCMCIA slots and 60GB EIDE 7200rpm for $2,899.00. Quite pricey.

IBM apparently also optionally provides a "three-year International Warranty".