[skookumchuck]

> some perfectly qualified candidates don't have laptops

So get one. You can get a good one from the pawn shop for $200. You can afford that if you're interviewing for a 6 figure job.

Edit: I'm not kidding. I've bought $200 laptops from the thrift store, usually for travel purposes so I don't worry about losing/breaking it.

[ilikehurdles]

When I was looking for work, my laptops setup was embarrassing. MacBook Pro with both a broken keyboard and misbehaving trackpad. I had to bring with me an external mechanical keyboard and trackpad. It worked out in the end but that could leave a bad impression with interviewers.

[skookumchuck]

It wouldn't bother me any. I'd just think you were thrifty, and were capable of working around problems to get things done.

[cellularmitosis]

Indeed, seeing a candidate bring a $250 ebay thinkpad running linux would impress me and be great ice breaker

[geofft]

How do you afford $200 if you're interviewing for a six-figure job but don't yet have a six-figure job? Personal loan?

(Also, that doesn't address the question of getting a working decent setup, if you're not otherwise using it.)

[skookumchuck]

If I need to advise someone how to come up with $200, he isn't capable of a 6 figure job. If I have to hold someone's hand to set up programming tools on a laptop, he isn't capable of a 6 figure programming job.

[geofft]

Interesting - why is that? Have you hired such people and found them incapable of doing the work?

[skookumchuck]

You're just trolling.

[geofft]

So you have no actual explanation for your hiring practices, just deep-seated biases that happen to correlate with bias against protected classes but isn't nominally actually against protected classes. Makes sense—that makes you well-qualified to be an interviewer for many tech companies.