I purchased my Toshiba Satellite in 2007 for just under £600, and it's still in use. I had previously owned a Toshiba Satellite and I'm impressed by the quality of Toshiba's hardware, so I wanted to replace my older model with something similar. What I like best about this laptop is the layout. The dimensions are good, with a generously sized screen, and an attractive silver facing. It has an inbuilt CD/DVD player and write drive and is wi-fi enabled. On the downside, the keyboard has almost worn out (though I am a very heavy user!). One major disadvantage of this model compared to others in the Toshiba range is that it doesn't have an external volume control - this causes huge embarassment if you're powering up in a library or somewhere quiet, and is inconvenient when you can't use the desktop volume controls because the system is running too slowly (more on that later). The playback quality is also very poor - the upper volume limit on the speakers is far too low to be able to play back a DVD, for example, comfortably. The battery life is also extremely limited: mine will run for a little over half an hour if not plugged in, making it impossible to use on the go - the heavy weight limits its portability too. In view of these facts it should really be though of as a compact alternative to a desktop, rather than a genuinely portable computer. The biggest problem with this laptop, however, is the insufficient memory. It has huge difficulty in running more than one program at a time, especially with programs that are greedy with memory (such as iTunes and Indesign - programs I use routinely). I store almost all of my files on an external hardrive and still have problems. However, in view of the years of reliable service I've had from it, it's a small price to pay.