So, long story short, I pulled the trigger and bought a Inspiron 5160 today to replace our HP laptop. The HP did its job well, but it's not hibernating as well... the power jack is kinda loose... lots of little issues. The deal we got (of course you know we got a deal) was from fatwallet.com - $750 off any $1500 purchase. HALF PRICE!

I actually bought two computers today... we started out with a tricked out Inspiron 1150, but when I took a second look, I noticed that it was missing a few things: S-video out, firewire in, exterior volume controls... just minor things, but real usablility factors. So this afternoon, I called and cancelled my order for the 1150 and immediately ordered the 5160. Here are the specs (copied straight from the confirmation email... hence the mumbly jumbly codes): Inspiron 5160Mobile Pentium® 4 Processor 518 w/HT Technology (2.80GHz, 533MHz FSB)
CP28NN
[221-6592]
LCD15 inch SXGA+ LCD Panel
15SXGA
[320-4020]
MemoryFREE Upgrade! 512MB,333MHz,2 Dimms
512MB2P
[463-3605]
Video Card32MB DDR NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX Go5200 AGP 4x Graphics
NV32MB
[312-0300]
Hard Drive60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
60GB
[341-1421]
Operating SystemMicrosoft® Windows® XP Home
WHXP
[412-0689]
[313-2834]
[313-2208]
[420-4766]
[463-2282]
[420-4830]
Network AdaptersIntegrated Network Card
INTNIC
[430-1051]
ModemInternal 56k Modem for Inspiron
INTMDM
[312-0302]
Document ManagementAdobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
ADOBER
[430-1048]
Combo/DVD+RW Drives8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+RW/+R) including Sonic RecordNow and MyDVD LE
8XDVDRW
[341-1515]
[430-1050]
Wireless Networking CardsDell Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps) Mini-PCI card
TM1350I
[430-0923]
Productivity SoftwareProductivity Pack including WordPerfect®
ICORELM
[412-0556]
[412-0714]
Security SoftwareNo Security Subscription
NS
[412-0735]
Digital MusicDell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
MMBASE
[412-0691]
Primary Battery12-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (96 WHr)
12BAT
[310-4701]
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support
ST111RR
[950-9057]
[950-3337]
[950-3550]
[412-0361]
[960-2780]
Dial-Up Internet Access6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
AOLDHS
[412-0587]
[412-0625]
[420-3224]
[412-0687]
Digital ImagingPaint Shop™ Pro® Trial plus Photo Album™ Starter Edition
DPS
[412-0521]
Personal Finance SoftwareMicrosoft® Money 2004 Standard
MNY
[412-0552]
Dell Media ExperienceDell Media Experience™
DMX
[412-0706]
So now we're entering the world of DVD burnability! This is our Birthday/Halloween/Christmas/maybe next Easter present to each other. And maybe Lydia will let me take the old computer apart! (kidding)

And yes, I know, it's not a Mac. I'm succumbing back to the dark side™! At least I didn't let anyone talk me into buying this.