I would definitely consider the new ultra books in particular the Asus ultra book that is both a tablet and laptop in one it won't be cheap but for travel the size and weight will be important, I think you should go with 8,it will hard to find new with out it. I would definitely not get 17" for travel. I think anything in the newer released laptops will cover your needs. The ultra book convertible is the best of both worlds, I think being able to use it in tablet mode will come in very handy. I personally own the Asus tf300 transformer tablet which I love but you want something bigger it sound like and your gaming needs would probably dictate a laptop. I don't mind a refurbished as long as it is factory refurbished with some warranty.

give us the make and model number of your wireless router and we can likely help you do it pretty easily, most of them it is a very simple task, just enter the address for the router set up in your browser go to the correct tab in the router for security and select WPA2 as the security you want to enable then you will definitely have to choose a name for the SSID because you want to change that and this is what everyone will see as your network name so you do not want to use your name or something that will let them know oh I see that is lpinkmountains network, you want to name it something random, you will also have to set a password or key so that anyone wanting to get on your wireless network will have to enter that key into the blank before they are allowed on, This is the key that must be made up of random letters and numbers most of the time it will generate one for you and you can accept that one but what I advise to people is to WRITE IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY and tape it to the bottom of the router! You should also definitely change the standard password for gaining entrance into the router it self so that only you have that password to be able to get in and change settings, you can add that to the one on the bottom of the router. Most routers do have the internal firewall enabled by default that is something you will want to check since you will be in the router settings it needs to be on. This is not the same as your software firewall you will find the software firewall in your windows security center. you should not need the software or cd for the router to do this. just give us the info on your router and someone will help you.

To use the wireless service, you need a wireless b/g card; most of the new laptops have this built in. Rather than purchasing MS Office, why not download free Open Office and give it a try? Once you are on cable, the download should not be too much. OO documents are compatible with Office, from what others here say. Several others here use OO and can answer any questions you might have. By all means get 2GB of memory. The size of the hard drive is up to you, but it sounds as if you don't need a huge one, given the history of your desktop. You might also consider later purchasing an external hard drive just for storage of pictures, music, and such. These are not at all costly these days. Look for plenty of USB ports and built-in memory card reader to help in transferring your pictures to the hard drive from your camera. A combo CD/DVD burner is almost a given, as that is pretty standard now. The 15.4" wide screen is not at all bad, but the 17" is nice if you can find it in your price range. Check around and watch the sale circulars. There are some great buys to be found.

SO: my first question is, how do modern folks work without a dvd. So my first question is, do you need a DVD player? Only you can honestly answer that, we each use our computers differently, there being no real right or wrong way. I very rarely use mine. If you download anything from the internet it can simply be installed from the Downloads file. Thumb/flash drives are almost at give away prices for the larger versions now too. Do you have enough data to warrant an external drive or would the external drive be an extravagance in your case. I don't or won't put anything in the clouds, maybe just an odd quirk in my case but....... On the email situation why not create a couple of throw away space based accounts with Yahoo, Live, Hotmail, Gmail or who ever else takes your fancy? I still use POP3 with my MS Office program but have three throw away accounts for when dealing with anyone who is not family or friend because I do not want my main email account cluttered with spam.