i looked at dell machines, but i tried out one with the combo point stick/touchpad and didn't think either of them were very well built. the buttons for the point stick (which i prefer on a laptop) felt really cheesy, and the touchpad was, well, a touchpad. 😉 anyway, other than that, they seem to be okay machines (altho i had a problem getting an hp usb cdrw to work on a brand new 8000, but replacing it with a que drive worked fine). i'd definately try out one tho if you can find one, to make sure you'll be happy with the point situation (unless of course you plan to use an external mouse, then it won't matter).
~erik