A few months ago I decided to replace my old NEC Ready 440T laptop that I bought in 1999. It was a PII, Windows 98 and had a 4.3G hard drive. I used it for email, surfing the net, creating my website, databases and spreadsheets, working with photos and other applications. It had been bullet-proof and served me well, but its useful life was over. The hard drive was full and I often deleted files so I could add something else. It had slow USB 1.1 ports and was not WiFi capable. Linda gave me permission to buy a new laptop for Christmas so I started surfing and shopping online. After a few days of research I decided on a Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop and it was time to place the order.

I discovered the same laptop with the same options is listed on Dell's website at different prices according to the page you select to customize it. I could click on Notebooks, Browse our Products, This Weeks Specials, Holiday Deals, TV Specials and Newspaper Specials. (Their pages and offers can and do change daily.)

I entered and customized it one way and got a price of $1,549 (their regular price). Entering other ways I got prices of $1,352, $1,166 and $1,127 - all for the same computer and options. Of course I went with the $1,127 price.

This is what I ordered:

Dell Inspiron 8600, Intel Celeron M Processor (1.50GHz/400MHz FSB), 512MB DDR RAM, 15.4" wide screen display, 32MB video card, 60GB hard drive, 24X Combo DVD/CD-RW, built-in WiFi, network and modem cards, 72-watt battery (that actually runs computer over 5 hours), Paint Shop Pro (full edition), WordPerfect Office 12 (full edition), Norton Internet Security (15 months), Earthlink IPS (6 months), plus lots of other software.

I've been using my new Dell for four months and I LOVE it. I carefully installed software to not load and run in the background and from pressing the power-on button I am completely booted up, connected to WiFi and surfing the internet in exactly 50 seconds.

For anyone considering ordering Dell, either a desktop or notebook, I suggest you play around on their website and built it through different pages to get the best deal. Oh, the shipping was free and I paid no sales tax.