[Ankesh]

I've been using a laptop as my main computer since 5 years now.

There are only 2 downsides to having a laptop in place of a desktop:

1. Laptops still cost a bit more than desktops
2. You can't upgrade your laptops as easily as you can desktops

But work wise - its perfect. You can take it anywhere. (Most new laptops already come with wifi too - so you can use internet anywhere there is wifi available). Makes it very flexible. Even if you don't travel much - you can sit anywhere in your own house... no longer get stuck to a desk and chair.

I would recommend you atleast get 40-80gb harddrive. And 1gb-2gb RAM (actually, if you don't intend to use Windows XP or Vista - then you can make do with less RAM. But because its hard to upgrade laptops - investing in more RAM from before makes good sense).

Oh - and go for Pentium Centrino - the battery lasts really long (3-6 hours depending on what you are doing on it).

Most laptops usually come with 2 usb 2.0 ports and a firewire port. But you could get extra usb ports for all your other hardware (printer, hard drive, tablet or wireless keyboard/mouse - thats 3. If you use all of them - go with 4 usb ports. You'll very rarely need more than 4 usb ports).

Before buying a laptop, search for coupons online. I saved about $500 on my last laptop because of a coupon...