If you need right away then i say go for dell ...they are cheap and best .. try dealstobuy.com - you will get good deals everyday. Dell are nice computers -- don't ever go for sony ,HP / Compaq are ok . Tosiba is also good but might be expensive compared to Dell.. I suggest you to to wait untill Vista is out and hear positive comment onthem .Nowadays Laptops are vista compatible but you don't get that for free if you upgrade. for $1000 you can get Dell : 2GB RAM , 120 GB Harddisk, DVD writer - a really nice one. ah well i am just waiting for vista and i need 4GB RAM.My HP is working fine for now.