Is there a plan for each operating system? I would go with 'rvm'
(http://beginrescueend.com/) for OS X and Linux laptops, and
http://rubyinstaller.org/ for Windows laptops.
Also a link for the after-conference guide:
http://guides.rubyonrails.com. The official guide has become so good
as to replace the hallowed Agile Web Development with Rails book.
Don