Peedy.. thank goodness for that..and yup..not much luck with my laptop.:-( everyone says rendering overworks it..the poor thing! 

thunderstone.. yup.. guess i have to look into one..not an expense i really wanted at this time. i'll look into it after my trip to london and spain..sigh. this one had 4 gb ram.. 

benny.. we have power cuts out here like mad..and though i have a power backup for the house..i need a laptop..at least for the battery power..