I was in a similar situation. As a long time thinkpad user, the first thing I did was check out Lenovos current thinkpad lineup and was also very disappointment

I was in a similar situation. As a long time thinkpad user, the first thing I did was check out Lenovos current thinkpad lineup and was also very disappointment by the hardware and screen quality. After several weeks of comparisons I simply decided to buy an rMBP, and I couldn't be happier. EDIT: Installing Ubuntu shouldn't be a problem on an rMBP, but you'll probably run into issues where you'll have to fiddle with font-size settings.