I'm now on my 2nd Dell laptop. The first one lasted me 3 years and is now still going strong for my dad. The last one was a Latitude, this one is an Inspiron 5160. It's big but that's because I wanted a 15" screen. It's not as light as some other models, but I think when compared to other 15" laptops it's of average weight. I know a lot of people have had problems with Dell but I have to say I've been lucky. I've paid for their "CompleteCare" so I don't need to worry about dropping my laptop down the stairs, which I very well might do some day.

The times I needed tech support with the Latitude they treated me very well. Yes, a couple of times my calls did get routed to India. I had a horrible time understanding their accents. But if I hang up and call back the call usually gets routed to a US call center. When I called them at 2 AM because my screen had burnt out I had a repairman at my door at 9 AM that morning with a new screen ready to install. All at no charge to me thanks to CompleteCare.

I've heard lots of Dell horror stories before. But my whole law school uses them (we have a laptop requirement and there's a purchase program with Dell) and as a group we're all very satisfied.