Ask HN: What's a PC (for Linux) laptop that doesn't suck right now?

I'm in the market for a laptop that I will be running Linux on. All I will be using it for is programming. In other words, it must have a good keyboard, screen, battery life, and passable Linux drivers. Things I don't need: glossy screen, advanced trackpads, optical drive, powerful GPU, 3G wireless.

Things I do want: Build quality. Good keyboard. Good display (does anyone still make IPS laptops?) And that's it. Size preferred would be 12" - 14".

My desktop right now is a 2006 Mac Pro, which is more than powerful enough for everything I do. I have several operating systems set up on it. I have nice big Dell IPS screens from 2005 which I'm still using to this day. Switching from that to the MacBook (2007) which I currently have is like getting spikes driven into my eyes; the screen is utter crap. I rarely use it.

The current state of affairs in the non-Mac laptop industry looks pretty pathetic. Are there are diamonds in the mountain of coal? I could get a MacBook Pro if I had to (can run Linux on it fine), but I would have to get the 15" matte model, and that's a huge/fast computer -- I will basically only be using it to edit text. Overkill. I would get the 13" MBP but it's a glossy-only computer.

Suggestions? I have no brand loyalty. Price doesn't matter.

I was looking at getting a ThinkPad x201/x201s, but recently the x201s has vanished from Lenovo's website, though it's still there in their annoying glitzy Flash banners when you are looking at their lineup. I also know that a large part of the ThinkPad lineup is now plastic crap that they try to trick people into buying thanks to the ThinkPad branding, which is unsettling.