Suggestions on Laptop Computer

[GroverTheClover]

Well if you have a windows computer, the first thing to do is scrap Vista and get Windows 7.  You'll be glad you did, even though you have to download the mail client from the web.

If you are a graphics professional, a Mac makes sense.  Otherwise, go with Windows.  Of course, you can run Windows on the Mac Notebooks with Intel chips, but dual boot setups are ultimately unsatisfying, especially since, when I last looked, you cannot use HPFS on the Mac and have to settle for FAT formatting, which is inferior.  

My Vista drive is currently formatted as NTFS not FAT. FAT is typically used as the format for removable media like external hard drives.

Considering HPFS isn't supported by many of the newer OS's, I'm not sure why you'd use it. NTFS has been the standard file system since NT.

[newdusk]

That should not matter. A PC supports FAT32 and NTFS. Linux also supports NTFS but MAC does not or did not 2 years ago.

[guava_wrench]

if you get a dell, you need to make sure you do two things.  Pay for the extended warranty and buy an external hard drive.

The internal hard drive will break (guaranteed).  If you have the extended warranty, it is a piece of cake to replace it.  If you have the external hard drive then you wont lose to much.

I currently have a lenovo and am fairly happy with it (although I am considering a switch to a mac).  Thus far, the only real problem I have had with the lenovo was incredibly diminished battery life (my 8 hour battery lasts about an hour and a half).

for a college student (or soon to be), I'd go with the dell and get the extended warranty (if he/she spills anything on it, its covered...)

Where did you read that about the Dell drives? I've never had a problem. My office is littered with old Dell laptops and this doesn't happen.

I hope you aren't generalizing off of anecdotal information.

My Dell laptop has been good except the speakers died, as did the headphone jack! My Dell at work has been through the ringer, so I don't think it is fair to judge that.