I am currently typing this post on my brand new laptop! With the advice and assistance of my brother-in-law (who is a genius about computers, especially compared to me), I was able to zero in on this machine. It's a Gateway, 15.^ 6" screen, 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB memory, with a superior graphics card should I one day decide to play games on it (might finally be able to buy Spore with this thiung).

The shocking thing was the price: $479. We couldn't figure out why it was so cheap, except for maybe the case and keyboard construction, but for what it was packing it was a great deal. So, now I just have to move a few things over and get used to it.