Buying a laptop is like buying real estate:

Thinkpad
Thinkpad
Thinkpad

(this post brought to you from my 4-years-old-and-still-hammering-nails T23)

Probably not a popular choice, but I have been happy with some Dell notebooks I have bought for people lately and the one I currently use at work (plus the one it replaced and the one that replaced) have performed well with no problems. I give them a fairly hard time, carrying my work machine around in a backpack with little or no care for its welfare and using it daily on the train.

I am in the backyard typing this on my utility laptop. A six year old HP. Never an issue. Lost faith in Dell a few years ago when my 3 month old machine's power supply caught fire in a hotel room in Phoenix and then the battery was recalled a few months later.

Get a Thinkpad.

Very true. "my" laptop is borrowed, but it's a thinkpad and I love it. Once I scrape some cash together I'm going to get a refurbished one. I know a lot of people who are very happy with their durability.

No matter how shiny or widgety it is, do not buy a Sony. If you want shiny and widgety, get a Fujitsu.

Dells have been icky lately, but so have the newer HP/Compaqs.

Thinkpads are awesome for the durability, features and longevity.

I used to love the Toshibas the most, but they fell quite a bit in quality/durability over the last 5 years.

I'd get a shiny new MacBook but that's because I hate Windows and have never gotten around to figuring out if I like Linux. Plus I just like things to work.

If you want shiny and widgety, get a Fujitsu

I've been shopping for a new Thinkpad (T60) to replace my trusty Thinkpad (T23), which inself replaced an earlier Thinkpad (600E)... and I must say, the Fujitsu is the only thing I've seen that made me question my Thinkpad bigotry ever so slightly. Looks like nice hardware; shiny, widgety and quality construction, too.

I've got a 5-year-old Sony Vaio which does pretty much what you describe - if it was my only machine I'd want more RAM and general oomph, though. Just a data point that says that Sonys can survive that long.

If I were buying new now, I'd get a Thinkpad because I've consistently seen them recommended.

My only concern about Thinkpads would be that they (along with all of IBM's PC division) were bought out by Lenovo a little while back, and I've heard of some problems with build quality in subsequent Lenovo releases.

Me, I am madly, swooping-violins romantically in love with my new Fujitsu T4210 (which is a tablet; most people don't seem to be interested in tablets, sadly). I did a lot of research and FWIW heard *nothing* but good about Fujitsu's customer service.

The only advice I can give is that at least two manufacturers now offer a warranty that will cover you if you drop it, spill coffee (or lager) on it, etc.

Dell's is called "complete care" and while I don't know what they call it, Toshiba offers one too.

Personally, I think these are totally worth the extra dough. One cracked LCD, and you saved yourself about a thousand bucks.