laptop choices ugh! looking for a very decent laptop.?

i need a new laptop that's LIGHT but at the same time not underpowered. i have been searching ultraportables but their graphical capabilities are just too low. can anyone recommend a light notebook which can play 720p, has an hdmi port, has a decent processor, only 2 gb of ram, only 100 gb or less HDD, and less than 14 inches. and has a pretty decent battery life

it's really hard to look for a laptop that has graphical capabilities and light at the same time. i've been thinknig of getting the new ASUS N81Vp, it has 4 gb of ram (which i probably can't use that much), a 14.1" screen which is awesome, but it has too big of a harddrive (320gb). the bad thing is i live in edmonton, alberta, canada and i don't know where to buy a notebook where i can customize it (dell's customization sucks, you can't subtract features, you can only add).

so if anyone can help me find a not-so-heavy, not-so-underpowered laptop, please help.

p.s. i'm won't buy a mac (because macbooks are just stupid, overpriced, and the 'it has no viruses' reason are just for people who don't know how to use an antivirus/antispyware properly), no dell or hp (mediocre products. i have an hp laptop that's loud as hell, and the battery only lasts for 2 minutes, customer service is the worst). also, i want to try some of the retailers out there (not the usual bestbuy/futureshop stores), but i have never bought any electronics from them and i might not get a proper warranty or something (sudden liquidation ro some other recession-wise reasons, and their websites look real hideous)

i'm thinking of getting either an Asus, a Lenovo, or a Toshiba laptop (or some of 'em good ones). i don't need an Alienware, XPS or something.

my price range is between $500-$1500 (hopefully won't reach $1500, cause we're in a recession. things are supposed to be cheap, right?)

thanks for your time. cheers. if anyone can help me out real big time then thank you.