I finally broke down and bought a laptop last November.  When I brought it home my wife wished me a Merry Christmas (long story ). 

 Here are the specs for those that are interested:

• Acer Aspire 5720-6200, Centrino Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz),
• 2GB DDR2 RAM,
  
• Nvidia  eForce 8400M GS (256MB RAM uptp 1024MB shared),
  
• 15.4" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite LCD screen,
  
• 160GB hard drive,
  
• DVD Super Multi DL drive,
• 802.11 a/b/g wireless.

The operating system is Windows Vista Home Premium.  I was reluctant about buying a Vista machine given the bug reports and having had some trouble with a Vista machine at work. 

Now of course, I don't know how I ever survived so long without a laptop.  I have it connected to my wireless B router and the connection has proven to be very dependable once I enabled the security.  Dandy (I'm sure that is a technical term)!

 That is not to say there have been no problems.  Here is a list of the lastest ongoing ones:

• Every now and then when I log off the screen stays black and I have to push the power button. 
  
• It is slow loading up, which I attribute it to all the security software (Norton 's anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and PC Tools Spyware Doctor). 
  
• There seems to be a war on my computer between Norton's Personal Firewall and the Vista's Windows Firewall.  Every time I log in the Windows Firewall wants to run, despite the fact that I have told it not too.

Despite these problems and I have to say that I am extremely happy with my laptop.  It could be my enthusiam over finally owning one (which did become my Christmas present as well ).  So, what's next?   Well, I am awaiting the first service pack for Vista, which I think comes out within the next 6 months (but knowing Microsoft could be delayed).  I am also looking at buying an wireless N router.  Finally I am cautiously scanning the computer stores for a wireless printer. 

Now if when I look at the prices for the wireless routers and printers, I ask myself two questions.  First, do I have a birthday coming up,  and secondly, how many nights on the couch would I have to spend if I buy both?  BTW, my birthday is in July.