I'm haven't owned a laptop in ages, so I'll recuse myself from buying suggestions, but the rule of thumb for all computers is to get as much RAM as you can afford (at least 4) and to get at least a dual core system. The only other thing I would suggest is to take a look at how and where you used your laptop, and then decide if you need a laptop at all, and if battery life is a major issue for you. If you do most of your computing at home, a desktop may be a better solution. If you take it outside the home, but always have a plug nearby (classroom, work, etc) then long battery life may not be a major feature for you, and look for laptops that provide other things. But if battery life is a major concern for you, and is the main motivating factor, then Macs really do provide an advantage in that area, but again, that's about the only objective factor in which they're better than other laptops.
So you've narrowed it down to pretty much all laptops worth having to begin with. 60% + of the laptops available for sale today have a minimum of two threads on the CPU, and 3+ GB of RAM. That alone is not a good enough target to head for. For example, my dual core AMD Turion laptop (with 4GB RAM) is crap when compared with my i5core (dual core/4 thread) Sony Vaio laptop. Even my ultraportable Intel SU3500 1.4GHz single core laptop is absolutely fine for pretty much everything I need from it, with around 8 hours battery life as well. It really depends on budget, and intended usage more than anything, that defines whether a purchase is a good one, or a waste of money.
Thanks all for your input. I was in a rush for a computer and decided to go with another Toshiba since my experience with my previous one was pleasant. Got a Toshiba Satelitte L650-5115. Has a processor slightly faster than my previous Toshiba and an equal amount of RAM. Once again thanks
My personal suggestion is 1. Don't go with mac if you want high performance or interaction with a network 2. Choose at least a 2.25Ghz processor w/at least 4 threads (more is better in terms of threads) 3. Don't let sales people sell you the "loaded" model of a computer 4. Check Dell's HP's or another website for MS office (they actually are decently priced) You should expect to pay $190 for office home and business 2010 or $120 for home and student 5. If you plan on using gpu accelerated applications for picture editing get at least an nvidia 435m card (I'm not sure what ati has out right now) 6. Realize that desktops of similar specs will be $100-$300+ cheaper 7. Don't expect the performance of a desktop 8. Compare prices across all major company's, they will vary as much as $400 for the same exact thing, just a different name and case.
