I am in need of a new laptop. Have never bought one myself. I just use the computer at work or borrow kid's computer. Any suggestions of a good, not real expensive brand to buy. I would love to have an Apple but they are so expensive.

Toshiba's are very good! I would asked yourself, how big of screen you want. 15.4? 14"? Check to see how much they weigh? The big thing for me is battery life! The more the better! All kinds of things to consider when buying a laptop, let's see what others say.

Macs are expensive for a reason. We just got our new one delivered today!

What makes them so different that they have to be the most expensive?

Went to Best Buy two years ago, got a Dell, 16.9 widescreen, Intel, 2G of memory for under $400....waited for the sale. What is stinky about it is that I have Vista - works very well for me, but it crashed when I tried to load the new Windows. If it comes with it, you are okay.

I have a new laptop. I wanted another Sony, but DH convinced me that saving $$ was more important and he bought me a Toshiba. I tell him almost daily that he will NEVER talk me out of a Sony again! EVER! My first desktop was as Sony (in 1997) and I loved it. Since then have had an Emachine desktop (piece of junk), a Toshiba laptop (ok but nothing special), a Dell laptop (really why would anyone buy this brand more than once? ... hard drive totally fried within a couple of months after the warranty ended--of course, Dell support cleverly limped it to that date) and I think something else along the way. When the Dell died a few years ago, I finally got another Sony (laptop) that I loved!!! Because technology changes so quickly, when it became sluggish and started crashing, I opted to get this Toshiba. I won't say I hate it, but I won't ever be completely happy with it. I doubt I'll ever buy anything but Sony again.

I have an Acer that I bought at Costco two years ago. I absolutely love it. Has a 14-1/2" screen and the battery life is phenomenal - Lasts a good 8 hours. Has been better that several laptops I've had that cost twice as much.

Personally.... I have had great luck with HP laptops (currently have 2). I have had my home laptop for 2 1/2 years and have not had one minute of trouble. I have had my other one for about 3 months.... no trouble yet.

When you do comparative shopping.... make sure you are comparing apples to apples. There are many, many options out there. I highly recommend a dual processer (works much faster).

You will also want to consider the type of support that will be available once you have purchased the system.

Good luck!

If you ever buy a Mac it will spoil you & you won't ever want anything else! You get what you pay for, & they outlast all the others. You don't get viruses either, like you could get on other computers. I had an G4 iBook, then hubby got a Macbook Air. Then he really wanted an iPad2, so now, I have the MacBook Air, & we sent my old one to my stepson, whose old computer had just died. Be sure & shop around, & get some good advice, before you invest in any computer....

Typing on a Toshiba Satellite right now! Had it almost 5 years and never a problem. I missed out on the battery recall as we didnt' get the info in the mail. Still using the same battery the computer came with and it holds life for almost 4 hours. Keep it plugged in to use it except when on the road. I bought a Logitech lap pad with a fan in it to keep the laptop cooled down. Only thing I wish it had was a keypad with numerals on the right hand side. Next one! Highly recommend Toshiba or Sony. Personal choice of course.