He already invested in ocean front property in Arizona. What more does he need?

Well, as long as you believe that, I guess that's all that matters. ;)

Whatever you do, don't buy a Dell. We use a Dell Latitude at school, and the keyboard is IMPOSSIBLE to navigate. I am always hitting the caps lock instead of A, and the numbers at the top sometimes push on a number next to them, so instead of 5, you would get 45 or something. Its really annoying.

I have a Latitude D600 and I love it. I resisted getting a laptop because I don't like most of them, but my school requires all students buy laptops (and in fairly pricy configurations!) I bought the cheapest of options -- not the teeny-tiny ultra-lightweight one, and not the 17" screen super-dooper graphics one. I love mine. Sometimes I'm out somewhere and I think "Oh, I'll just whip out my laptop and look up that address/movie schedule/restaurant listing/etc." and then I remember that a) I don't have my laptop with me and b) if I did, there's no nearby wifi connection I'd be comfortable using.

Well, you already know this, but the reason that I bought a Dell is because of their customer service. My old HP, that I bought at Best Buy, was a nightmare to have serviced. They don't fix laptops on site, they ship them out to the manufacturer, and it takes a minimum of four weeks. Twice I didn't have my computer for eight weeks at a time because the tech guys at Best Buy screwed up.

With both my old HP and my Dell I've had problems with the AC adapter. Here's what it was like with my HP:

Take it to Best Buy. Tell them my AC adapter isn't working. Have them ship the computer and the adapter to HP. Wait 4 weeks. Go to Best Buy. Pick up my computer. Notice that it's still the same AC adapter. Realize they haven't fixed it. Have them ship it back. Wait 4 more weeks. Pick up my computer, and new AC adapter.

And with Dell:
Call customer service. Wait on hold for 5 minutes. Tell the cs rep that my AC adapter isn't working. A day and a half later, receive my new AC adapter.

I have heard good things about this place...

http://www.notebookshop.com/nstore/

If you live near one of the locations, supposely the best place to test out the equipment, they let you try each model out, so you can check keyboards, screens, etc....

Our next major computer purchase will be a laptop and it will be a Dell. I really like their service, their products, everything about the company keeps me going back over and over (5 computers, 3 PDAs and more fun stuff).

Well I found a kick-ass deal (MMs words) in a Sony Vaio. Unfortunately (or fortunately) they are sold out. I think it's back to the Dell bandwagon I go.

Deahter, thanks for reminding me of your story. The free TiVo at CompUSA forced me to shove it to the back of my head.

Free TiVo? Oooh, that'd be a toss-up for me.

My bet is that Best Buy was the bulk of the problem, not HP/Compaq.