If we don't buy the bottom of the line, I think you're right. Remember that price is all that matters on the floor at most retailers. I hate to write this but the stores haven't sold me a machine in years but have been useful to check out the keyboard, display and the feel of a machine I am considering.
They don't get the sale because the model I wanted is not there. So we pick them up (home and the shop) from dell.com, amazon.com, newegg.com, geeks.com, overstock.com, ibm's refurb outlet, apple.com (it has an excellent refurb offering too) and other online order places. A notable exception was a pair of netbooks from walmart. They had the price and for what we used them for (driving a show booth display), it was all about price.
Lifetime tends to be half dependent on the owner and half on the maker's design. At least some of the life span is under our control.
Why not another Sony?
Bob
Hi all. I have a five year old SONY Vaio and I think it's time to replace it. It was cnet's Top Five, 5 years ago, but I think current websites have outstripped what that little thing can handle nowadays. I have a 17" Gateway at work; it's fine but when I first got it, the tech's were tearing it apart weekly, for problems. Now, it works fine. My SONY has NEVER been in the shop! I've looked at cnet's Top Five now, and SONY is nowhere to be found.
My top limit is $900-$1000 and I'll only be buying it through HSN because of their Flex Pay sytstem. I know that SONY's name really meant something 5 years ago but it seems to be eclipsed by many other company's so I don't know if I should stick with that brand, based on how reliable it has been for me in the past. For those not aware of HSN, currently, they are selling a 17.3" Gateway LCD with 4GB Ram Dual Core HDD for $699.90, which is well within my budget. Currently, HSN sells SONY, Gateway, Acer, HP, Compaq, and Toshiba brands. How I use my laptop is very limited by my needs: email, download photos, music files and web browsing and shopping. That's it.
I'm looking forward to your help as I'm unqualified to figure out what I need for myself. It's got to last another 5 years until the next crop of NEW comes out in 2016. Thanks in advance to all who reply and help me out.

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