Are you in need a new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with 3GB of RAM and a 200GB hard drive and have no way of paying for it? Then why not sell advertising on the lid of the laptop to places like Firefox, Technorati, Digg, and other Web 2.0 startups? That is exactly what Leah Culver did and now she has a shiny new laser etched laptop to use wherever she goes.

You can contribute a bit of money to help me buy a new computer – a MacBook Pro laptop. For $150 a square inch, I’ll etch (almost) whatever you want on the top of my new laptop. Your ad will be shown all around the Bay Area coffee shops, start-up offices, and Web2.0 conventions! I now work at Instructables, a how-to/DIY website full of cool projects. Instructables is located at Squid Labs and I have access to their laser etching/cutting machine.

I was thinking of laser etching my laptop but I don’t think I’ll let Instructables do it for me. The etching job on Leah’s MacBook doesn’t look so great. Some of the sponsor’s logos are completely faded out. The FireFox logo (I assume it’s FireFox) looks terrible and you can’t make out the three logos at the bottom.

I think the laptop would have look better if she just asked the advertisers to send her decals to stick on the lid. Then she can just charge by the month and add or remove advertisers as contracts come due.

Her idea is a good one however, and I admire her creativity and marketing skills. I’m sure she’ll be getting many fan mails from geeky computer nerds.