The sales guys at MicroCenter were pushing a Gateway laptop, partly because it has an i5 processor, instead of a Dell with an i3. The prices are the same, as are most of the specs. My son is reading some reviews and it sounds like the i5 is somewhat faster but it actually gets better battery life. So I guess the i5 is a better choice than i3. Right? On the other hand, I'm not hearing many recommendations for Gateway. If anything, people (other than sales people at MicroCenter) have been trying to steer me away from Gateway. Is Gateway really to be avoided? What about Linux on Gateway. Right now I'm thinking the Gateway might be the best choice, for $599 at MicroCenter. This is it: http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-NV5929u-Notebook-i5-430m-battery/dp/B0036FFH4A http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0336321 Strangely, the Amazon reviews say that it plays Blu-ray, but I doubt it. I wonder if Ubuntu can do the graphics/sound easily. I don't know if it is Linux-friendly -- not finding info via Google. Any opinions on this? Mike