In my opinion, the better laptops are IBM Leveno, Toshiba Qosmio (or higher) I don't recommend the satellite for business. Definitely NO DELL (any model) and Gateway is getting better, but would not recommend them either unless getting a top of the line model. Those tend to really scream. More bang for the buck with a solid reputation trophy would go to IBM (they tend to last as long as you care for it) I know some IBM laptops still being used today that are 15- 20 years old. However, the trophy for the most 'toys included' or 'features' would go to Toshiba. They give you more of the coolest features than anyone. My customers love them and I sell them easily. The Toshiba leans more toward entertainment though than business. Always remember though, it takes more power to produce entertainment software/hardware than just about any business apps (excluding CAD). So, an entertainment machine being used for business would give you a little edge on the power (speed) of your business apps and still be able to do a few extra things you normally would not be able to do the with a stock business machine. ADDED: HP/Compaq (same company now) is descent and increasing in quality, not yet up to the 'WOW' stage (that is just in my opinion). Sony is cool looking and in features. However, not knowing how to put them together well is their downfall in performance. They seem to be constantly in last place in the charts for performance compared to other machines while requiring a premium price. Sony (kinda like Mercedes) are riding on their nameplate while putting innovation on the back burner. I hope that that will change soon (for BOTH their sakes). Sony has (more than most of the other name brand which have too many already) many programs that suck the system resources which steal your performance. The less the programs that load in your 'system tray' the better/faster your PC will perform and even boot. I recommend getting at least 2 gigs of ram with at least 160 gig HD. A higher end laptop will have a dedicated video card while others are 'shared'. Now this is only important if you are looking for real speed. Otherwise, shared video is fine (which is why I recommend at least 2 gigs or ram. If you settle for one gig and you have 256 mb video then you will have to subtract the 256 from your one gig (because it is shared). This leaves you with just 768 mb of RAM. So, with all these programs coming out now with added features with every version, you are going to need allot more that that. Just remember you cannot upgrade more than 3 gigs of RAM without upgrading to a 64 bit version of Windows. this rule applies to all laptops AND desktops. I hope that helps and good luck! http://www.bytemecomputers.net