which laptop should I buy for my personal use?

For a medical doctor, your grammar sort of sucks :)

Get a Toshiba. If you want a PC, the most reliable computer will be a Toshiba, every laptop we've had has lasted for years (the oldest one is getting to be over 10 years old soon). People will tell you to get a Dell - Dells are reliable *if you pay for it*. If your laptop is under $1000, you're throwing money away, so don't look at the Dell options that try to sell you a 3GHz, 3GB computer for under $1000. HPs used to be reliable, but I don't trust them anymore. Don't even think of buying an Acer, they're guaranteed to break down. So Toshiba Satellite series is a good choice, though they are slightly more expensive, but the investment is well worth it.

New computers now come with Windows Vista. People complain about it, but it's a great system to use once you get used to it, and if you haven't been using computers a lot, you won't have trouble getting used to it (I'm a classic Windows person, I don't even like the XP layout, but I'm super conservative).

I suggest a laptop, but if you want a desktop, then you have a lot more choice. They are cheaper, have more capabilities, and Dell desktops are pretty good, HPs are also good. I am currently using a Samsung flat screen monitor, and enjoying it. However, Acer is still a bad, bad, bad choice. For a desktop, you can get 4Ghz, 4Gb RAM, with about 80GB space for $600 if it's custom built Dell, plus your monitor will cost you maybe $200 for flat LCD.

If you're not looking for anything fancy, just net surfing and DVD burning and printing, you can talk to someone at Future Shop or such, they can definitely help you. They become useless when you're looking for something more specific, but for a simple workstation, Future Shop/other tech stores tend to be pretty helpful.

For people recommending MacBook air: you can't burn DVDs on it. It doesn't even have a CD/DVD drive. AFAIK.

Generally HP/Compaq & Dell are the most popular brands to purchase. You will want to avoid VISTA at all costs because, frankly, just about everyone hates it. XP is still available, you might have to call and ask when ordering though. For processor generally anything of the current breed is fine. Most laptops are somewhere in the 2.0-3.0Ghz range and the higher the better, but the cost will increase and you might not see much higher return. For your RAM (aka memory) I would recommend at least 1GB. It's more common and can handle just about everything. If you get Vista, try for more than that since Vista is a huge memory hog. The hard-drive doesn't need to be more than 80GB I'd say, and that's on the high side as it is. Any bigger and you're wasting money on unused space. You can get a DVD-Writer/CD-Writer combo from most anyone and they provide the software. The size of the monitor is where the prices really come into play. This is all depending on your personal taste and desires. Larger screens are good for displaying lots of data or watching movies, but obviously it makes the laptop bigger and heavier. Go to a store and look at the laptops, get a sense for what size screen works best for you since you can always adjust the resolution to grow/shrink the information on the screen.

Generally HP/Compaq & Dell are the most popular brands to purchase. You will want to avoid VISTA at all costs because, frankly, just about everyone hates it. XP is still available, you might have to call and ask when ordering though.

For processor generally anything of the current breed is fine. Most laptops are somewhere in the 2.0-3.0Ghz range and the higher the better, but the cost will increase and you might not see much higher return.

For your RAM (aka memory) I would recommend at least 1GB. It's more common and can handle just about everything. If you get Vista, try for more than that since Vista is a huge memory hog.

The hard-drive doesn't need to be more than 80GB I'd say, and that's on the high side as it is. Any bigger and you're wasting money on unused space.

You can get a DVD-Writer/CD-Writer combo from most anyone and they provide the software.

The size of the monitor is where the prices really come into play. This is all depending on your personal taste and desires. Larger screens are good for displaying lots of data or watching movies, but obviously it makes the laptop bigger and heavier. Go to a store and look at the laptops, get a sense for what size screen works best for you since you can always adjust the resolution to grow/shrink the information on the screen.

First, what is your budget like? The Macbook Air as the other poster suggested will start at $1800 and top out at over $3000. I would recommend the Lenovo Ideapad, either 15.4" (Y510) or 17" (Y710) widescreen models. The most expensive model tops out at $1800 and is configured with two 250GB hard drives, a 256MB ATI HD2600 graphics card, integrated web cam with facial recognition software, wireless, theater sound with 4 speakers and integrated sub woofer, Dual layer DVD burner with Blu Ray DVD Reader; the Air and most other laptops cannot come close to this configuration and this pricepoint. These start at $600 for the Y510 model and escalate up to $1800 for the Y710 (the Airs starting point).

A mac - doesn't matter which but any of them. They'll last you forever! The one I'm on now I've had for nearly 3 years and it's as good as new - even with a lot of memory used it's got more than triple that left! Only way you can tell it's old is because of the stains and so forth that have come from me! Don't get a PC though!

It really does not matter while make you buy from, so long as you are getting what you need. One thing I would suggest is going to a manufacturer that allows you to customize your laptops - Dell is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Get a decent processor (i.e. the more expensive, the better) and something like 2 gigs of RAM if you're using Vista (I suggest XP myself, Vista being too buggy) and you should be set.

If most of the stuff you do is PC based, I would go with a mid level Toshiba, Dell, or Levino. Stay away from Gateway.

If you don't need the PC compatibility, go with a Mac Book.

If you spend a lot of time reading web pages, I suggest a larger screen size to reduce eye strain. If you are going to carry it around a lot, get one that is smaller and lighter.

Macbook!

The Air does not come with a CD ROM drive or USB port, and it has low memory.

The Macbook and Macbook Pro are foolproof, very easy to use and last a long time. I have had mine for a year and a half and no problems!

They are slightly more expensive than PCs, but DEFINITELY worth every penny!

Better go with a laptop of HCL. I am having a laptop of Tosiba M200 which bought for myself but mainly for my sis who is doing MD Pham. Since i am a very goo modeller i prefered that Laptop. May br for you go with a range of Rs. 30,000 to 42,000 worth laptops. If have further doubt mail me i will give a detailed quotation with detailed configurations and also with copies of quotation I received when i bought my laptop last week

Dell