What laptop should i buy for IT ? (programming) and is it macbook suited for programming ? (for Australian)?

Have a look at ASUS N53SN-EH71 - Quad core (2.2 with Turbo Boost to 3.1) - Not that many brands offer that for under 1000$. - Up to 16 GBs of RAM - I haven't seen this option in any other laptops other than Alienware. - Numpad - Some people don't like this feature, but I find it very useful, specially when using programs like Excel, but this is almost standard now in 15" laptops. - Silent - When I'm using all its resources, there barely any noise coming from it. - Cool - Same here, this laptop doesn't get warm at all, but, one thing to take note of is that the vents on the right do throw some hot air, so you should never block that. - USB 3.0 - This is pretty recent technology, and although I don't have anything that uses USB 3.0 right now, it is a nice feature to have for the future. - Graphics Card - Most laptops at this price range include a GT 540 (1 GB), this one comes with 2 GB of GT 550 (which is an overclocked version of the 540).