DJ:

Don't rule out Sony Vaio's. Might want to add that to your list with HP. etc.

Govt here used to have some gateways, and while their customer support was good, we ended up calling for help an awful lot. Gateway always responded with quick "real person" on the phone support, a couple troubleshooting trys, then an immediate hardware replacement. But, we did a lot of replacing.

HP, from what I read has come a long way, and is teamed with Compac.

ACER bears a look at, they are putting out some good stuff now adays, cost effective, and PCWorld seems to like them.

And I do agree with you about Dell. At home here 3 years back I went to all Sony Vaios, I can actually get people on the line, but only had to do it once in 3 years on 2 computers. (Lightning and a case of dumb-butt on my part costed me a harddrive).