I think the reality is that the "manufacturers"...aren't, any more. They're assemblers. That being the case, I'd look less at the brand and more at where/how you can get it serviced. I've got a no-name laptop purely because I can get it serviced locally without having to ship it away to even get someone to look at it. -- Mary Malmros malmros at verizon.net Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug