John:
What brand of camera are you currently using? If you're already invested in lenses and accessories for a particular brand it makes very good sense to stay with that brand, assuming the lenses are compatible with the modern cameras.
Get a DSLR and current models of all the big brand will meet the technical requirements for the vast majority of editorial stock needs.
I wouldn't do any photo editing on a laptop unless I would hook it up to a larger screen/monitor. Monitors are very cheap these days so that's good news. Personally I'd get a new MacBook Pro from Apple or a well-equipped Dell Studio XPS. The big advantages with current Macs are that they can easily run Windows and Windows applications and software, far less crashes, as well as very little to worry about as far as viruses and malware goes,
Personally I use a MacPro (desktop) for my main computer. Max RAM (16 gigs), 4TB of internal hard-drive space, and a fast dual processor makes this thing fly even with very large digital files. I have and use daily both Mac and PC laptops.
Hope that helps.
Mike Karlsson
PhotoSource International
www.photosource.com
mike@photosource.com
