Hi Murph,
Yes, I researched Asus and I agree the plethora of models was confusing. As it turned out, the one I wanted wasn't available in Canada so I ordered it in the US. It's blazingly fast and runs much cooler than my cranky old hp (the latter lost its hard drive after about 18 months, out of warranty, of course). It came with Vista and so far, it's been working great. Also thinner and lighter than my old hp and the special battery modes extend working time up to about 5 hours. It has features I have not even tried yet--something called LightScribe, which labels discs you burn.
Regards,
Alan
