Suggestions for a non-Mac laptop or netbook?

[Sarah]

I just found out I can't run payroll from my Mac. I may have to run out and buy a new computer at lunch, which is not my preferred method. I like to do research, find the best deal, etc.
That said, anybody have suggestions of a decent but cheap PC laptop or netbook?

[Jaimie]

I love my HP. I got it at Best Buy. Best Buy always has really good deals.

[Mary]

I have an HP Mini (netbook) that I bought at Verizon. The customer support at Verizon is stellar but I have to say, I only bought this Netbook last August? September? and it's already completely crashed on me once, requiring me to send it to HP for fixing. The problem was fixed free of charge and the HP people were extremely helpful and fast. But if it happens again then I will probably just scrap it and get something else. Apparently what happened to my NB has happened to other HP Mini others, plus I recently saw HP Minis on Clearance at Target, so...caveat emptor.

[Kevin]

only prob i can see with a mini is if it has processing power to do work related things. most are just for net surfing and lite processing power. also, with running payroll software will you have to use spreadsheets? if so, the little screens will be hard to see everything in one window.

[Sarah]

A valid point. The payroll stuff is online, so it will hopefully not eat up a lot of processing power.
I ran out and bought a Toshiba netbook at lunch. If it bombs, I'll buy a real computer and keep that one for myself.

[Rachel]

My Compaq is perfect for me!

[Sarah]

I'm loving the little baby Toshiba.
I'm not a huge Compaq fan - a college roommate had one that gave her nothing but trouble, and we had a desktop that had all kinds of overheating problems until we discovered that its organs were all reversed. The case was set up backwards, so you couldn't access anything even after you took it off, and the fan was on the wrong side.

[Rachel]

YOUCH, Sarah! Your friend got a tough deal!