Laptop suggestions

[wctyler]

Need some advice on a possible laptop purchase.

This is what I think I need:
15" screen minimum
40 gig HD
CD-RW/DVD
10/100 Nic
Modem or empty PC card slot
512mb RAM

I'll be using it for the typical office & internet applications. Connect to work with a VPN, terminal emulation, etc.

Additionally, I'll need it to handle MS Visual Studio 2003, Oracle 9i, and MySQL. It would be really nice if I could use VMWare to run a virtual Linux machine to handle the database stuff, but that's debatable.

Got any suggestions on manufacturer? I like touchpads.... none of that stupid little button crap like Thinkpads use/used to use.

Suggestions on speed? Anyone sell decent reman machines?

[RADAR1797]

This looks like it would meet your needs and it is under $1000 after rebate.

-RADAR

[wctyler]

Thanks for the quick reply. That does indeed look to be just right for what I'm looking for. If I can just hurry up and have my motorcycle sold... I'd like to pick one of those up.

[golfcart]

I'm gonna vote for a Dell 5100. It's kind of heavy, about 8 pounds but very nice. I've had mine for 2 weeks now and it doesn't leave my side I can't stand Dell as a company, but they do make a decent laptop.