Laptop Help

Hi all,
I need to get a Laptop for business school. It pretty much just "needs" office and vista. I would like to get something good. My price range is $1200-$1500 unless I can maybe get a good tablet. Are they worth it yet? Here are the recommended specs though I don't NEED all of them. Any suggestions on what I should get and, more importantly, where I should get it?
_Dave

Processor Intel Core 2 Duo - 2GHz
Hard Drive 100 GB
Memory (RAM) 2 GB
Video Card 128 MB2
Optical Drive DVD-R or DVD-RW
Warranty 3 Year parts and labor + Accidental Protection
Network Ethernet Port (built-in or PC card)
Wireless Wireless CArd (802.11 b/g)
Network Cable RJ-45/CAT5 network cable
Region Manufactured for U.S. only

 

Does it have to have Vista installed, or is it that you just want the latest & greatest? For your price range, you may want to look at Apple's line of notebooks.

The other question is, how long do you plan on not being teathered to an outlet, due to too many people forget that laptops do not regenerate power, and go dead after a couple of hours.

 

The school supports vista. I could care less. XP is fine. I've never been into Macs. I would love to have 10 hours of power, but that is probably a pipe dream.

 

My dream device for school would be a good tablet with MS One Note or comparable software.

 

In that case, you may want to look into a Mac, due to you can also Dual Boot into Windows, but run mostly in Mac OS-X. Plus it is a more robust OS, and better manufacturer warranties then the others.