[matth2]

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T61P. It would be a good machine except (1) the screen quality is consistent with that described in this article. Furthermore, it's developed hundreds of dead pixels. (2) The shift keys need to be hit exactly in the right place for them to work - the keyboard is a bit dodgy. (3) I had to replace the battery twice (under warranty) in a period of 6 months after buying it. I paid for quality (and was happy to based on reputation), but did not get it. It's been a very frustrating.

My day job laptop is a Dell D630. Very happy with this. My next laptop will be a Dell. The track ball on the Lenovos is much better.

[janm]

I have a D630 and I agree; it is a laptop and does all the right laptop things. However: I got my wife a Dell E4300 and had many problems. Other colleagues have got other E series Dells have have had basic problems like not being able to suspend/resume under Windows and being forced to run a single core to get basic reliable operation.

See, for example:

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19245498.aspx?PageInde...

http://www.datapoohbah.com/tech/2008/12/16/dell-e4300-is-bit...

I don't know if things have improved, but based on my experience the D630 was the last good laptop from Dell.

[kevinpet]

I also have a D630 for work. When I am working at home and open up the downstairs HP to refer to something on a separate screen, I'm always struck by the massive difference in build quality. The HP Pavillion dv6100 feels like it's going to droop like a taffy bar when I hold it with one hand. The Dell has a good keyboard, a pointing stick, a power plug that doesn't make me worry about breaking it, and a marginally usable screen.