Toshiba Satellite A55-S326 Notebook PC (1.60 GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive)

Rating:
Summary: Nice basic machine, cheaper at CostCo with bigger drive
Review: I bought this same machine with a larger, 80Gb drive for two hundred dollars less at my local CostCo.

The Centrino is a big win over a Pentium 4 for laptop use: lots better battery life, less heat. The built in WiFi is, of course, a great feature but this machine has a little external on/off switch, which can take your ad-hoc network offline (for security) or just easily let you save additional power when you're not using the network. At 6 pounds, it isn't the lightest machine, but it is much lighter than the Pentium 4 laptop it replaced for me (a Compaq Presario 2500 at about 9 pounds).

One negative: The silver paint finish on the screen cover rubbed off the very first time I put the machine in a laptop bag with a mouse. It costs a lot more money to cast colored plastic than to paint it, so this is one place where Toshiba cut corners and it shows, literally.