That is the one thing I have noticed since scouring the net and asking everyone and anyone in the know their opinions on who makes the most well put together laptop. It seems that many folks are extreemely loyal to one particular product or brandname, but one brandname doesn't seem to be conclusive over the other. The Imac sure has its very loyal following, as well as Dell and Toshiba and, another brand rapidly picking up steem is HP, especially their DV6000 and DV9000 lines. I am beginning to conclude that at this point, figure out exactly how much of a laptop you need and can afford, paying particular attention to Size of Hard Drive, How much Memory (RAM), and third, how much graphics card, and lastly and most important, the CPU. I have concluded that the duel core processor is important, as it is essentially two processors stapped together, and the OS uses one for certain functions and the other for certain functions, and most importantly, only one is being used and powered when both are not needed, saving battery power and overall electric consumption. Another rule of thumb, to save money, get the base core duo (1.60GHz, I believe), and skip the upgrade on the CPU and get 2G's of RAM, as your CPU runs out of cache space for storage, it will draw from Ram, and adding RAM is much cheaper than adding a high end CPU. Bottom line, I'm waiting for some hot sales. Another thing to think about is size, and yeah, folks, size does matter... Most of the 17" models that I've tried out in the stores just seem too damn big and heavy, especially if your going to use the thing as a LAP top... it's just too damn big for my lap, and I have a big lap at that... the 12" is just too small, especialy for viewing movies, etc. That's the one thing that turned me off from the DELL XPS 1200... hot looking little machine... just too small. 14-15" seems just right for my taste. It seems to me that all these machines (Toshiba, Dell, HP and many others) are all beginning to become clones of one another. Seems they are are made in China nowadays, and no one has yet to convince me overwhelmingly that one is better than the other...

Ms. Rose, do you have a Micro Center in your area? They have a web site but when you go into their stores, unlike a lot of the Best Buy folks, the people who work there are VERY educated in what they sell and the prices are great. My uses are very similar to yours. I've owned a lot of laptops and have paid a lot of money for extra's I never used. My favorite so far has been smaller sized, inexpensive HP's and Compaqs (400.00 or less) with a key pad on the board. They have all the features needed like micro card slots, usb ports, ample ram and hard drive space but are lighter and easier to move around with. After having an 18 inch mammoth HP and hating it, I'll never go larger than 15 inch again. It hasn't happened yet, but I am glad that if after a couple of years something does go wrong with the unit, it won't cost an arm and a leg to replace. Micro Center also has a great warranty program if that's something you are interested in. One thing that people don't usually think about but is really important is to know where the vent fans are for your system. HP used to build them on the bottom causing the units to get very hot. They've now redesigned them to vent on the side, but I'm not sure if all manufactures have done that yet. Also, I know a lot of people are happy with them, but my husband is an IT computer guy and a Dell employee; he's very familiar with their products and feels they are not what they used to be and are over priced for what you get. Here is a link that might be useful: Micro Center

Internet banking is Internet Banking. Using a secure tablet or smartphone is the same as using a PC. Passwords and Virus protection are essential for all. Using the bank's app to access your accounts is another layer of protection. The following is from a Huffington Post article about security and banking using your tablet or smart phone: How safe is it? Smartphone banking is just as secure as Internet banking, provided you choose the right software. All legitimate banking apps require passwords and will accesses your details from a secure data centre, so your account data is never stored directly on your phone. ItâÂÂs also important to follow a few basic safety rules: ⢠Download antivirus software and keep your app updated to avoid threats from malware ⢠Switch off Bluetooth when you use your app and donâÂÂt access it over public wifi ⢠DonâÂÂt let your phoneâÂÂs browser automatically save passwords ⢠Password lock your phone ⢠Delete texts from your bank after you read them ⢠DonâÂÂt âÂÂjailbreakâ your phone as this can remove built in security features ML

Jess, I would make sure the mapping software you want to use will work on the Zire31. The screen on that model is 160x160 -- not high-resolution -- which either will make maps harder to view or may make it impossible to install the software. You may not know that Pa1mOne just introduced a Tungsten E2. The key improvement over the E is Bluetooth networking built-in. The E2 also can use a Palm card to connect to Wi-Fi networks (the E cannot), but the price of an E2 and the Wi-Fi card is really close to other, better Palms. That aside, unless you know you're ready to use the Bluetooth, I think you'll be happier with a Tungsten E. The E was one of the most popular PDAs Pa1mOne ever made, so there are likely to be numerically-higher numbers of unhappy customers. While the E does not have the Tungsten "universal" connector, it is decently supported with peripherals like keyboards and all kinds of cases and sync cables and such. Finally, one way to try out a Palm without paying top dollar is to look at the Factory Outlet on their Web site. I purchased my Tungsten C open-box and I was hard-pressed to find out why it wasn't considered "new in box" -- at a much lower price than a regular C would cost. Might want to check that out. The link is below. Here is a link that might be useful: Palm Factory Outlet