Intel Macbooks may be the shit, but a bad idea. If Nick's company will even let him get one, their IT dept will most likely not support it; worse, they probably won't know how. Most IT dept's think it's a waste of time training for Macs. And compatibility issues have been greatly reduced in recent years, but there are still some roadblocks, especially if the company is still using antiquated equipment, network protocols, and/or application-specific file issues. He'd be on his own with stuff like that.
IMO if you have to go to a brick & mortar store to buy one, Toshiba will be your best bang for the buck. Make sure you get insurance or the extended warranty- always a good bet with laptops . . if it breaks sometime down the road, it'll more than likely be replaced with a newer, faster model
