[tysonK]

Originally Posted by Dean

In the past 12 years between percsonal and corporate notebooks, I have personally had/used 5 Dell's, 5 Compaqs, and 3 Toshibas that I have used foreverything from primary work PCs to test beds, to OBD2 readers.

Everyone's batteries crap out. If they would spend $1.00 more on their charging circuits, they would last a hell of a lot longer, but they don't. Dell had a problem with their pointing sticks/track pads for a while. Appears to be fixed now. Toshiba has had display failure problems, and quick battery disintegration. Compaqs held up OK if you take them apart and tighten their screws every 3 months.

I'm sure HP, and IBM have similar issues.

Make sure you have a USB HD for Backup and do so weekly at most. Notebook 2.5" drives fail 10 times more often at least that 3.5" desktop ones.

Assume they are disposable. Spend as little as possible to meet your needs, and consider a 3 year "free replacement" warrenty from a major retailer (CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City) if you can get it for < $100. make sure it starts imediately, not after the manufacturer one ends.

For some reason I had to post this: