ASSISTANCE REQUESTED . . .

My Dell Inspiron laptop, purchased in preparation for law school seven years ago, is defunct. I have to press hard on the left side of the machine, right above the hard-drive, in order to get the drive to run. Even then, the system is slower than me getting up in the morning, and makes this horribly painful clacking and grating noise as it takes its time turning. The hard drive has been replaced twice, the modem replaced once. Oh, then I stepped on the modem wire and broke off the teeth, so I had to get a new wire. And there's a bit of permanent schmutz in the middle of the screen -- I can't imagine where that came from, but it's kind of gross, even by my low standards. So in human years, my computer is about 204 years old and acts like it. (Is that still true, that after about 3 years, a PC computer is an antique?)

So all of you must help me -- I'm totally serious right now -- in my research and purchase of a new laptop. I'm a big fan of Dell -- mainly because I've become dear friends with most of their Technical Support department over the years -- but am open (kind of) to other brands. Friends have extolled the virtues of Hewlett-Packard, Gateway and Apple. I have browsed the websites of almost all of the above, and have come away no better informed than I was before I browsed, mostly because I don't understand what I'm reading. Is it English?

I'm not even clear on what I am looking for in a computer. I suppose I would mainly be using it for word-processing and Internet-browsing purposes. And after spending a week with Ha's wireless-but-still-connected laptop, walking all over the house and surfing the Web at the same time, I'm pretty addicted to the concept of NOT being hooked up to a wall every time I want to check my email. Do I need CDRW/DVD capabilities? Probably not, but it would be fun, right? Do I need that much memory? Probably not, but I never know, right? Do I care how heavy it is? Probably not, but I might have to take it on the road with me one day, right? Do I care how expensive it is? Probably not, but who doesn't love a great value? Do I need to have Korean-language packs installed on it? Probably not, but why shouldn't my parents get in on a great computer and use it too?

So, tell me what you're using. Tell me why you love it. Tell me why you want something else and will never go back to the laptop you're on now. Tell me where I should go and what I should look for and who I should talk to. Tell me all the tricks of the trade in customizing a laptop and getting the best price for it. Tell me why I should not be afraid of all the numbers that appear on computer spec sheets. And finally, tell me that buying a computer is not such a big deal and I shouldn't develop a bad case of agita over it. Thank you in advance for your kind and helpful words . . .