If I would buy a new laptop, the most important specs would be an IPS screen and the best keyboard available because IPS screens cause me less eyestrain and a quality keyboard with a trackpoint is a pleasure. I value ergonomics. I also value a light laptop, as my desktop has ample power. I am a programmer.<p>I also value the capability to run any OS I want, because like brokenparser said, "because I am what I am and the supplied OS is never good enough."
Resolution. I've been buying 1920x1200 15" laptops for along time. My latest laptop is a retina MBP, which I have only because of the resolution (it's fine otherwise too, but nothing special). I just wish the screen wasn't glossy.<p>Other requirements: SSD, discrete Nvidia graphics card (which do great under Linux), lots of RAM.<p>I probably wouldn't work anywhere that wouldn't let me run Linux on my machine without virtualization.
Most important would be the capability to run any OS I feed it (without any signature bullcrap) because I am what I am and the supplied OS is never good enough.
Something lightweight with 13 inch screen because I like light stuff and feel comfortable writing code on 13 inch screen. I can write code on smaller or larger screen but 13 inch feels about right in case I need to use Gimp/Inkscape.
weight: this is th most important. it's a laptop, you carry it around, so it should be confortable to carry<p>SSD: speeds everthing up<p>keyboard/trackpad: you're a developer, so you write a lot. Make sure it's confortable to do so<p>screen: you spend a lot of time in front of the screen, so make sure you get something that's easy on the eyes.