I just bought an HP laptop at WalMart. Cost was $499. An AMD 64X2 processor running at 2GHz, 3 GB of RAM, Vista Premium 32 bit, 250 GB hard drive, 15.4" screen.

No PCMCIA slot, so I can't plug in a PCMCIA sound card. Not an issue, buy an Edirol UA-1X for $80 from PG Music.

I upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate 32. I would have upgraded to 64 bit, but there were some programs I wanted. I may switch to 64 anyway, just to get it to run faster. The programs are replaceable with others I have.

What I'm saying is that you can do an awful lot at a lower price today.

Of course, if you want, I also have a Toshiba with a 3.2GHz Pentium IV, 2 GB of RAM, 80 gig hard drive, 15.4" screen, XP Home, and a new reinstall to factory settings, AND a color laser printer with more than half the toner left, $550, cash only, you pick it up!

Gary

I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!