I ordered a new notebook computer for my wife, a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430. Very nice machine, with a 14" non-glare screen at 1366×768, Intel Core i3 processor, the usually bells, and weighs in at just under 5lbs. What I really liked about it was that all the ports are on the sides and front (SD card) of the computer (including a HDMI port) – nothing connects in the back. That's really handy for tight spaces. Another selling point was the "new" keyboard layout, a substantial if different "upgrade" from the ThinkPads of old. The keys have a really nice touch and spacing and layout is great. The computer also has a very nice form factor, light, easy to open up, and pleasant on the hands, though a few more pixels in the screen (size, not density) would have been nice. I choose to upgrade the RAM by running down to my local Microcenter and purchasing a 4GB SO-DIMM (PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3) for $30; not only was it a lot less than what Lenovo wanted to charge, but it was the SAME Samsung chip that was already installed. How freaky is that?! All-in-all, the laptop cost around $525 with tax and discount, not bad by any means.
I did have an issue when I first tried to update Windows 7 (Home Premium 64 bit). The updates would install, but when I went to reboot to finish, they would revert after getting about 15% done. No worries, a bit of googling found the solution. I first ran a chkdsk /f/r and then rebooted. Then, I ran the updates in order, with a reboot in between each set:
1) Critical updates (about 10 updates)
2) .Net and IE (3 updates)
3) first half the Windows Updates (7 updates)
4) second half of the Windows Updates (6 updates)
5) last Windows update (it was about 1.2 mb in size)
Viola! Only someone in Redmond would know why a perfectly new installation would experience this, or why Windows Update couldn't have figured this out itself, but there you are; it worked, and my wife is now enjoying her new computer, in all its understated glory!
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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430
the itjerk 
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