Help, please.
I'm on the market for a new computer. (I never did get that cell phone.) My computer is on its last legs, I fear. At the very least, I'm not sure how much more of this banging around it can take, from being transported to and fro. Here are the laptops I'm considering:

Dell Latitude -- I'm quite partial to my Dell Latitude now, and it has served me well, although I had to replace the hard drive 2.5 years into it. It's now lasted me 4.5 years. Not bad.

Dell XPS -- or something like that; it's their new multimedia gaming laptop. Looks...shiny.

Compaq -- cheap as, and my Compaq desktop was always pretty nifty.

IBM -- I hear it's a good workhorse.

Toshiba -- Ditto. I'm not sure how much to rely on word of mouth b/c I think it all depends on how people treat their laptops. You bang it around, it no workie for long.

iBook -- I want to be hip and cool. Although I can't take exams on Macs, I could always keep my old laptop around for just such a purpose.

Any other suggestions?