Yaristock -
I come from the world of low expectations. I don't expect Dell or any PC manufacturer to come through for me. I know I am a battery destroyer because I don't have the time to spend on carefully maintaining the health of the battery.
That said, I had a Dell Inspiron 8200 work fine for me since 2002. Yes, its battery got wimpy after a year, but a plug has always been within reach (most indie coffee joints have them). I even doubled the number of batteries for awhile because the PC had that option. It's only real fault in the last year+ has been a failing screen that is probably a worn out video cable (works fine when I output to external CRT). Right now I am typing on a Dell Latitude D630. Too early to know if there will problems (presently knocking on virtual wood).
Until recently, if I had a choice, I would have looked into AlienWare, but now Dell owns them too, so I am not optimistic about the quality of their product in the future,
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I'll be happy to switch to a Mac (aka Unix) when they own 51% of the market.
CarloSW2