Bit of a bump, but I thought I'd add my 2p.
I've had quite a few laptops (now on my 7th) and, basically, my advice is to go with the business models. Ones from Tesco that have naff glowing buttons to open the DVD software, etc. are a waste of time, with poor build quality, none of the features you want and all the features you don't want- and are usually loaded with rubbish software upon arrival.
Macs are good but I wouldn't recommend them as they are often incompatible with 3rd party software, and Windows has matured to the point where it is on par for features with OS X and actually works.
The other day I went on eBay and got a Lenovo T61. It's matt-black and sober and business looking, not shiny or naff. It needed a bit of TLC, but it was extremely cheap (£150)- a new hard disk, new battery (£100 total), and giving the air vents a good clean and it's better than new (2 years ago it would have been about £1000). It has both the "nipple mouse" and a trackpad, and it has a virtually full size keyboard with proper key travel that is highly rated among laptops. It also has a nifty little light above the screen so you can see the keys at night, and little holes beneath the keyboard that go all the way to the bottom so that if you spill your tea on it it drains through with no problems.
So my advice is to get a business-class laptop (Dell, HP or Lenovo), second hand if need be. They are more durable than consumer laptops and spare parts are available and cheap. They are also much, much easier to take apart if you need to.