A couple jobs ago (it's depressing how often I change them, but then again, I am in the internet biz) I used a company-owed laptop and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, when the company was closing and I got to choose a machine to take with me, I opted for a desktop machine instead of my beloved laptop, since at the time DVD Verdict needed a new server. It ended up dying a couple months down the road, and I kicked myself even harder for not taking the laptop instead.

Well, I finally got enough money together to buy a new one. I searched all of the likely places online the best possible deal. I was initially attracted to the Balance laptops at Walmart.com, but the off-brandedness really threw up a red flag. I looked some more, and finally settled on an Inspiron 2200 from Dell. Basic and inexpensive, which was just what I was looking for, but the $700+ price was a bit of a challenge to my budget. Well, I started searching for reviews of it, and found one with a link to get it for a lot cheaper - $599. I had been going through the Home/Home Office section of their site, but if you went through the Small Business section, there was an incredible sale: double the RAM, free internal wireless, a free inkjet printer, and $150 off. Wow. I got a helluva Dell for cheaper than the crappy Balance laptop. The only upgrade I opted for (other than the free ones) was a CD burner, because you never know when that will come in handy.

So the moral of the story? If you're looking at getting a Dell, look through all their "divisions" and see if they're offering different specials.

Unfortunately for me at the moment, my wife left me (relax, it's only temporary) and took my uber-cool laptop-carrying backpack with her, so I can't go sniff surf on a wireless network away from home. And she has my (she'd make me say "our," but she's not here) digital camera with her too, so I can't take any "action shots" to share. So, really the only fun I've had with it so far was watching the Dawn of the Dead remake in bed. Funny enough, I didn't watch all of it - the same thing happened with the original as well. I wonder if the remake will look as hopelessly dated in twenty years as Romero's version?