Buying a new notebook ...

... with the following specs. Any suggestions?

General Questions
1) What is your budget?
$1000

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
No Lenovo

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Software development - Eclipse, NetBeans, Tomcat
Databases: Oracle/SQL Server 2008,
Virtualization
(Virtual box with OpenSolaris, Fedora, Debian)
(Virtual PC with Windows Server 2008)


6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Portable, but mostly on the desk

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
No games, will be watching songs on youtube

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Mostly connected to power, battery life 1-2 hrs is fine

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No

10) What OS do you prefer?
Windows Vista Home Premium/Business/Ultimate. 64-bit.


Screen Specifics
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
a. WXGA – 1280x800 or occasionally 1280x768; For people who like big text and icons that are easy to read. Less stuff fits on the screen, which translates into more scrolling.
b. WXGA+ – 1440x900; A modest bump over WXGA. Text and icons are a bit smaller. A little more stuff fits on the screen.
c. WSXGA+ – 1680x1050; The middle ground. Again, text and icons are smaller than WXGA+, and more stuff fits onto the screen. Good for having applications open side by side, like a web browser while playing a video.
d. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Very small text and icons, that can be hard to read. Lots of stuff fits on the screen, which means less scrolling. Good for applications that require a high level of detail like CAD or Photo Editing.

b,c



12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Mainly indoor work for many hours a day. Should not strain my eyes.


Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not at all. The notebook should be reliable.


14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Now to 6 weeks.
As long as possible


15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 500GB?
320GB minimum


16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive? CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner
DVD Burner


17) Other: Bluetooth is a plus. Motherboard must support more than 4GB RAM

Thanks for your reply - it did help. I was aware of the HP dv5t but not the Sony. Will check it out. I am definitely looking for as much RAM as possible, preferably >4GB, though that may be very hard to find. The only reasonably priced laptops that are expandable to 8GB RAM have AMD CPU's but seems that AMD Turion 64 X2 "lags" Intel Core 2 Duo.

Anyway, I have until January, but would appreciate help of anyone with more suggestions.

1) why would you need a mobo that supports more than 4gb's of ram and yet your budget is 1k?

Yes 1K, actually I was able to configure a laptop with 8GB ram for around $1300 or so.. but there were other things I didn't like about the system...I may just wait a little longer (even though RAM prices seem to be heading up). If I can't get a system in my budget, I'll have to compromise on the RAM. :-(

2) 1-2 hours of battery life, and not moving it much but mainly on a desk, why not a desktop?
No desktop, already have one...main reason is that I will be moving around with the laptop -- just not very frequently. Also, space is an issue in the small apartment I have.

3) why no lenovo?
In my past experience, comparable Lenovo's seem to be more expensive than HP/Dell systems.