Apple MacBook Spring 2010 (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD)

Pros: This laptop is fast, reliable, and contains top of the line components to keep it going long after a comparably priced pee cee will crap out on you. Service is top notch if something breaks in warranty and it's inexpensive to fix out of warranty.

Cons: Apple needs to add a SD reader and probably should add a Blue Ray drive as an option along with driving the monitor industry by increasing the quality of their screens with every iteration. These are not big deals, but would improve the laptop more.

Summary: I had a logic board crap out on my three and a half year old laptop just a month after the extended warranty expired. I was not a happy camper when I found out what a replacement would cost. I called Apple support and they told me to cough up a little over $300 and they'd send FedEx to my house with a box to mail my computer out in. I told them I wanted a new monitor too because I thought it looked quite dim next to my Dell (I didn't mention the Dell display was a recent replacement). A few days went by and the FedEx guy delivered my laptop back to me with a new logic board, display (with LED backlight instead of the fluorescent lit one it replaced), and one new 1G RAM module that replaced a defective one. I basically got a new 17" MBP back from Apple for a little more than $300! You don't even hear of that level of support much anymore let alone experience it. Apple has me hooked, even if that fraud Algore is on their B.o.D.