buying new laptops

[verbal abuse166]

With my new FIRST team I need a new laptop. This will be used mainly for pits work and just to fool around with, however it’s also my family’s new computer (our old one is getting wicked old). I’m thinking speed and battery life are optimal for FRC pits work, but I also need this to work on Mindstorm, for my Lego League kids (which I’ll hopefully create). Furthermore there’s a possibility I’ll need it for mechanical drawing and animation (but hopefully my company will be able to aid me with that one). Oh yea, and for some odd reason I like things cheaper. So what laptops would you suggest (I’ve heard that most people don’t like vista)?
Thanks