Stay the heck away from Gateway! My little brother and I bought our computers from them a couple years ago and I really think we paid too much. Tech support keeps you on hold FOREVER and that stupid machine crashes like you wouldn't believe.
And God forbid you want to upgrade or install anything new. They make it soooo darn hard for you. I installed a SCSI card adapter and a CD burner, but it was waaaaaaay more difficult than it should have been.
I just bought a Dell laptop and I FREAKIN' LOVE IT! Very very reliable, doesn't crash. They have good tech support too and treat their customers right. I haven't had any problems.
A lot of my fellow law school torture victims...errr, I mean, fellow students...use laptops and the clear preference is for Dells. Much better, sturdier construction than other brands, and great reliablility.
Also, the Price is Right! You get a much faster machine for your $ than if you went somewhere else. And they ship it to you soooo fast.
Finally, a hint - make sure to click on the link for education or schools. If you type in your student ID when they ask (UF uses social security #'s), you get the education discount, which can be a couple hundred bucks. Pretty darn sweet.
Good luck!
G8Ralphaxi
(I swear I don't work for Dell, BTW! I did not get any monetary compensation or promotional consideration for this message.)