I'm typing this on the current Panasonic CF-T5 (Japanese). I love this laptop. I use it for business, and the quality is unmatched. The battery life is rated at 15 hours, and I just used the computer for the entire 11-hour Hong Kong-Moscow flight playing games and watching movies. As for the circular trackpad, it works far better than it seems. I'm totally used to the touchpad, and it's very precise. I just don't know any laptops that compete in Panasonic's niche market. If you can read Japanese, this may be the laptop for you. If not, expect to spend extra money to replace the OS.

This seems like roughly the only competitor to the Panasonic Toughbooks...

Widescreen's great for watching movies, but when it comes to most business work, it's not practical or necessary for most applications. I used to have a widescreen laptop (Sony SZ) and I recently replaced it with a Panasonic CF-T5 4:3. Most documents are tall, not wide. I used to have all kinds of unused space on the side of my screen (yes, I know I COULD have thrown some app in the dead spot, but I usually didn't).

Incidentally, I have a T60 sitting right here. I just ordered 6 of them for my company, and the price/performance ratio is really good for those units. The Lenovo quality certainly feels better than most other brands out there. Don't forget Panasonic, though. If price is not such an issue, nothing compares with the specs on the Panasonics. The durability is unmatched and the battery life is incredible (on my JP version, 15 hours with the included battery). It's too bad they're not well-known here in the US..

I'm using a tiny integrated tube amp with my computer. I built it in one night from a kit (just requires some soldering skills, no schematic reading necessary). The total cost of the amp was $140 from Antique Electronic Supply (www.tubesandmore.com). It sounds terrific, and the 8W per channel is more than enough for my living room using some normal speakers. I've been using the amp for years now. Since building, I've upgraded the power cable, capacitors, and speaker binding posts. I have to replace tubes every now and then (perhaps one every 4 months or so, and I use the amp every day).

Much (unfortunately, not most) of my audio is in a lossless format (right now, FLAC). I take the audio directly out of my computer via optical digital output ($30 Turtle Beach USB device), and send it to an external tube DAC (California Audio Labs). I don't think it's possible to get much better sound for the money (OK, the DAC was expensive), and the great thing is that if the amp breaks, I can fix it myself. The only real downside is having to get up to change the volume (haven't yet figured out what to do yet about a remote for volume control).

I agree with a previous poster. I travel all over the world, and I travel light. I'm not buying an Apple laptop until they produce something that's truly lightweight. Until then, it's Panasonics for me.

Wow...they actually spelled Juilliard correctly. Rare...I could use one that plays violin.

I'm typing this on an SZ right now, and it's been a great laptop (I've had it for around 6 months now). There really aren't any alternatives to it at the moment. I mean, 4 lbs. (2kg) or less, built-in camera, and a decent video card. It's also built well. Can anyone think of suitable alternatives? And don't say Apple, because they're all heavier than I'd like.

Well, I'm happy with my Sanyo eneloop batteries, which can be used 1000 times. After 1 year, they hold an 85% charge.

wibble, JohnnyC, THANK YOU. People need to realize that this movie is based on the first James Bond novel. The movies have never been exact copies of the books, but this movie will apparently be a truer interpretation (the books are great). That said, Judi Dench will be playing M, perhaps leading to a little confusion (given that this is a prequel). I remember reading somewhere that they decided to include fewer gadgets on purpose and instead focus on plot. Oh, and to be fair, check out http://www.danielcraigisbond.com as well.

Andir2.0, you need to take a look at the actual stock, which trades on Japanese markets during Japanese market hours (you provided a link to the NYSE ADR). This link shows the drop:

http://quote.yahoo.co.jp/q?s=6758.t&d=c&t=3m&l=off&z=b&q=c&k=c3&a=v&h=on&p=m25,m75,s