Windows Laptop suggestions

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I've been using an aging PIII Presario 1800T w/ 320MB RAM and XP that
continues to work, but now on a more limited basis. There are features
I've grown to demand in a notebook that Compaq included. The LCD,
sound chip + JBL speakers, and Toshiba DVD/CD drive have excelled at
playing many DVD's. For two years this system was a good desktop
replacement, and for the remaining time I've used it mostly as a 'net
station & for heavy DVD use. Unfortunately one of my cats decided to
use the keyboard as a scratching post and broke the 2, /, and ENTER
keys. So now that the KB is kind of fubar, it's pretty much restricted
as a DVD player and as another possible XMPCR base station.

So what brand notebooks offer excellent picture, sound, and quality
optical drives? Since I value laptops also as multimedia stations how
big of an issue is heat? I have no idea about pros/cons of P-M or P4,
Wi-Fi and so forth (I've been out of the loop since fall 2000). Weight
isn't a big issue, battery life should be at least 2-3 hours
regardless if CPU's shifts speed, and the quality/reliability of the
HDD (but not necessarily speed) is important.

I'm not necessarily interested in getting an IBM/PC laptop now but am
starting to check to see what's available and who is offering quality
parts and feature rich functionality for under $3000.

Any tips/suggestions would be appeciated.