I ordered a new laptop today to replace the dead laptop (8 months before I was planning to)

Getting an Inspiron XPS, P4 3.4GHz, 15.4in WUXGA, 1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz, 128MB DDR ATI's Mobility Radeon 9700 AGP 8x Graphics, 80GB Hard drive, 8x CD/DVD burner with double layer write capability, with an extra 16-cell battery...  this one better last me 3 years. 

At least twice the machine for the same amount I paid for the old laptop 2 1/2 years ago (new one weighs about 2 times the amount too).