I'm getting a new laptop for school. I'll probably order it this weekend, but I wanted to let the power of CB influence my decision. Here are some things I'm looking for:

-Budget: Under $1000

-Preferrably smaller and lighter, rather than a backbreaker.

-Good recognizable brand, such as HP or Dell or Toshiba, or any others you can convince me are worth the investment

-Use: Mostly school related projects, such as reading CB, research, reports, minimal gaming, smooth playback of DVDs/video and decent sound for a notebook

-Good Batter Life, at least a couple hours. I can't unplug my current brick for 5 minutes before it shuts off without warning

-Widescreen display is best, I could do 14" or 15" with decent resolution, also I don't like glossy screens so much

-Everything's Vista now I guess. I'd be happy to purchase it with only 1GB of RAM if it would be cheaper to upgrade to 2 GB on my own.

-Would like to be able to burn DVDs as well.

-At least 120 GB HD

-Black better than silver in color. But that's not really important

Anyone have experience buying from Costco? Are you satisfied with the quality of their selection?

Any particularly good ways to get a good deal?

Any thoughts from the tech savvy and/or those who think they know a good deal about everything would be great. I guess that's everyone on here....