I actually use a laptop I bought a couple of months ago as my main computer, and it's been great. I got it from Vicious PC (they specialize in "gaming" PCs and let you choose the components). What you'll find if you poke around the vendors on the web is that there is really only about 5 or 6 actual companies that make laptops; most companies just slap their name on it and give it some cosmetic changes (for example, most Dell laptops are made by Quanta of Taiwan), so you're likely to keep seeing basically the same machines over and over. Knowing this, I wouldn't be afraid to check out some of the smaller, "boutique" vendors on the web. This website is a pretty good resource for researching vendors - they take feedback from users. http://www.resellerratings.com/ I would look for a laptop with a Athlon 64 or higher end Pentium M processor, at least 1 GB of memory and a dedicated video card with it's own memory (like a ATI Radeon 9700). Pay close attention to the rotational speed of the hard drive; in many laptops they are only 4200RPM (versus 7200RPM in a typical desktop system). If the manufacter offers an upgraded HD (a faster one - higher rotational speed) this is a worthwhile upgrade. I've had high end laptops with slow HDs and it kills the overall performance of the machine. The screen size is a matter of personal taste; mine has the 15.4" widescreen (this is very common) and I think it's fine, but there are many (like the mentioned Acer) that go as high as 17". I actually travel with my laptop, so I don't like the bulk and weight the large screen laptops have. As a ballpark figure for a good laptop, I would say you're looking at about $1500. I don't really use Macs that much, and while they have their strong points, I've always considered them quite expensive versus a comparible PC. As far as image editors go; I like Corel Photopaint a lot; I've used it and Photoshop interchangably over the years, but Photopaint (now part of the Corel Draw package) is a heck of a lot cheaper. Hope that helps.