Laptops and Ogres and Whiskers on Kittens

Laptops: I' ve decided that rather than buy a third battery for craptistic Dell that my wife is using, it's time to get her a new computer. Anyone have a recent purchase that you love? Maybe in the 15" screen category? I'm thinking inexpensive, but not cheap. So far, Lenovo, Acer, and HP look interesting. Something that doesn't come loaded with bloatware would be a plus, though I don't know if that's a possibility. In line with that, I have a far-too-varied array of firewall and anti-virus software on my computers. I was using the Zone Alarm firewall with AVG anti virus until they stopped playing together nicely. Right now, I have Commodo on one system. (I know I should get her a Mac, blah, blash blah. I understand the quality and amazingness of it. I've met Steve Wozniak, and ages ago I knew several of the guys who helped design the original Mac. My first computer was an Apple II. Macs are awesome. But I'm not spending $1,200 for a system that will be used for nothing other than email and Bejeweled.)

Ogres: I rarely pre-order video games. I like to read reviews, first. But I took a chance with Tactics Ogre for the PSP, since it was a remake of a game that many people raved about. It was a good move (no pun intended). If you like strategy role-playing games like Disgaea, Jeane d'Arc, or Final Fantasy Tactics, then you'll love Tactics Ogre. SPeaking of which, I'm now in my 70th hour of playing Resonance of Fate on the Xbox 360 (over a period of many months). It features a unique hybrid of action and turn-based combat. My initial reaction after the first hour or two was to return it for a refund. But I'd read several reviews that said you really had to give it a chance. I did, and I was glad.

Whiskers on Kittens: Sorry. I lied. Wait -- I just noticed my cats have whiskers. And they were kittens, once. So, I hope that does the trick.