I am looking at a new position with a new company.  I have talked to some people in the past (in general, not at this company) that they had been given a yearly budget to buy new computer stuff to keep up to date.

Now why I feel this question is worth asking here is that Joel comes right out and says an employer should pay for the best equipment money can buy... within reason of course.

From The Joel Test: 12 Steps to Better Code


  9. Do you use the best tools money can buy?
  
  Writing code in a compiled language is one of the last things that still can't be done instantly on a garden variety home computer...
  
  Top notch development teams don't torture their programmers. Even minor frustrations caused by using underpowered tools add up, making programmers grumpy and unhappy. And a grumpy programmer is an unproductive programmer...


Does anyone know if the industry has such a standard to offer an allowance or budget?

I have never worked for a company like this, but I am thinking I should toss this in the ring for negotiations.  Seems reasonable.  How do bigger companies like MS, Google, and Apple handle this?  If you say yes, give a range... I have been told numbers from $5k to $10k.  Seems high to me, but hey I would gladly take it.

Personally, I would want the company to just sort out the equipment I need, not give me a budget and make me to deal with all the research, negotiation and other hassle that goes into buying and installing corporate hardware.  

In the end, all I want to have to do about hardware is state my few requirements, and have someone else do all of that work, so that I can get on with mine.

More important and appropriate (IMHO) is a personal training budget, with which you can buy books and attend courses and conferences.
