So I've come to the Empegbbs brain trust to help me find a new laptop. I haven't posted much here lately as I usually just stop by to read and keep up with the most interesting community here.

I'm currently running an old mid 2007 Macbook. It's served me well but, the battery life isn't what it's used to be, I don't have enough room on the HD to install Windows (a necessity for work) and even the lastest OSX version aren't even an option on this model.

I really don't want to spend anymore than I have to. The Macbook Air looks really nice, but I'd have to add in the cost of a new Windows install on top of the Mac price penalty. I don't really have any real reason to use OSX in any case.

My uses are really basic, just general web browsing, heavy Outlook and MS Office use, plus the ability to use the web based applications for work. Ugh, too many choices. I don't know who the more reliable manufactures are or what's even enough for my needs. Just entry level I suppose as I've managed with this old tank of a Macbook for so long.

If you end up picking a Dell consumer level product, let me know, I can pass on a 17% Friends and Family coupon to you, this is open to any of the old time empeggers (if you have to ask, then clearly you are not an old time empegger :-)).

Personally I'd check out the Dell Business Outlet and see what you can find in the Refurb / Scratch & Dent for a Latitude. They are a better build then the consumer grade stuff. Check BensBargains for coupons, currently it has one for 25% off refurbished Latitude laptops. As always with Dell (and other OEMs) it is often cheaper to upgrade the memory via Crucial or similar, same for going with an SSD harddrive.

Yes I work at Dell, no I don't know how well these stack up against HP or Lenovo (I know plenty of folks who you could not drag their IBM ThinkPad away from them), etc, I've only gotten hands on with Dell products at this and recent jobs.

What screen size/resolution? What OS (OSX, Win7, Win8, Linux)? Do you want a touchscreen? Do you want a wafer-thin Ultrabook, or are you happy with a luggable? Do you need a DVD drive? Do you need a VGA port? Is this a desktop replacement (screamingly quick, terrible battery life)? Or do you want something that you can use for hours without plugging it in?

13" is enough screen real estate for me, no idea on the resolution. I'm at 1280 x 800 now and it's OK, but a bump up would be nice. Windows 7 or 8 I suppose. Touchscreen isn't needed at all. Luggable is OK. Don't need the DVD or the VGA port. Not a desktop replacement so super fast speeds aren't a needed, I'd rather the battery life.

Just something basic is really all I'm looking for, but I don't want something so simple and cheap that after a year it'll be falling apart and obsolete.

Phoenix, thanks so much for the kind offer. If a Dell is what it ends up being I'll PM you.

The other day, I had to load up a DVD to install TurboTax and realized that it had been a solid year since I'd last used the DVD drive -- the last time I had to install TurboTax. For a laptop, this is now the #1 question for you: do you need a DVD drive? If not, then you've got the MacBook Air and a variety of "ultrabook" PC clones from Lenovo, Samsung, and others. Many of the ultrabooks comes with SSDs as well.

If you're planning to go with the PC side of the house, then you also need to decide whether you want a touch screen. Windows 8 ultrabooks tend to include some sort of flippy screen, turning your laptop into a tablet and back again. This sort of thing might be useful if you fancy yourself occasionally using your laptop as if it were a tablet (e.g., watching movies, playing casual games, etc.).

I particularly like the Lenovo Yoga 13". Turns into a tablet, has touchscreen, and it is very, very well built. And I like the whole Yoga idea and the many ways you can use it.

USB external DVD drives are compact, cheap, and one only needs a single unit to service a handful of PCs/Macs.

I've not needed an optical drive in the last several years (except for ripping media, and I have a specific PC for that). If I'm installing a PC, I use a USB stick. That said: I do have an external DVD drive; I've just never used it.