So, I need to figure out what to do about a notebook. I've been thinking about the Dell Inspiron 8500 for a while now....it features such goodies as a Wide-Aspect screen, NVIDIA® GeForceTM 4 4200 Go with 64 MB DDR video memory, and WiFi A/B/G!

However, I have also drooled over the new Alienware Area-51m

• Innovative upgradeable mobile video card design
• Choice between the latest nVidia or ATI 128 MB GPUs
• 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD Display
• Custom Alienware Metallic Colors
• Built-in 802.11a+b wireless networking technology
• Built-in 3-in-1 Media Card Reader
• 800MHz Front Side Bus CPU Support
• Built-in Digital 5.1 surround sound support
• Built-in front infrared port and remote control

....but alas...it is not out yet.

I can't bring myself to buy a Cow Box because of my residual loyalty to Micron....and Micron's laptops don't have decent video cards....

Anyone else out there have any really good suggestions? I don't really think that a Best Buy notebook will make the cut, because I need to have Windows XP and Office XP Pro for school. The store bought notebooks usually don't have those.....

P.S. The photo is me in front of the main stage at Woodstock '99...which despite all the bad press was a really good time. They originally said they would try and have one every 5 years going forward (1994, 1999, 2004) which means I may be camping in NY again this next summer!

Peace out!

P.P.S. BTW, I am wearing one of my many Heat.net T-Shirts in the photo. Heat.net: Promoting Peace Through Cyber-Violence. Man I miss the good ole days.