Might be looking for a new laptop

My laptop is on its last legs. I bought it a long time ago while in Seminary in 2oo5! So it comes as no surprise that it does things like take 15 minutes to boot up, runs poorly when it is working, and is temperamental besides. The screen blinks off and on randomly, and it is noisy. But I can't complain, as I've used this computer an incredible number of hours. It has flown to Cancun Mexico, Florida, Denver a half dozen times, Philadelphia, Boston twice, plus Seattle. The list of miles it has traveled in a car are nearly countless. And I carried it to class every day for a handful of years. I did upgrade the RAM about 2 years ago, and I regularly try to create room on the hard drive by moving stuff to external storage, but one of these days, it isn't going to turn on. I get occasional and random disk problems too. So my church is looking at getting me a new laptop so I can continue to work :-) Below I have put together my current thoughts on what I am looking for, and am open to suggestions.

Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7. Just say "no" to Vista.

CPU - an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.0-2.4GHz. No to all AMD processors, they are HORRIBLE for video editing/processing

RAM - 4GB+ of RAM. RAM isn't that expensive, but trying to be cheap here is like cutting out part of your lungs - you can still breath, but just not as well as possible. Windows 7 will be able to utilize more than 4GB of RAM, so anything over 4 is a bonus.

Screen - minimum of 15.4 inch screen, bigger is a real bonus, but not over 17 inches. My wife's 17 inch screen is beautiful, but my current 15.4 screen is livable. No 14.1 inch screen please.

Hard Drive - 320GB is probably the minimum with 7200RPM, and 500GB is preferred. Hard drives are very cheap, so you don't save much by getting a smaller one. It seems the stuff we store grows at the same rate that hard drives do, so you can never have too much hard drive it seems. A reasonable (and possibly good) option is to have an second external hard drive. I don't think I need a solid state drive. I'd suggest avoiding the 5400RPM hard drives as they are 25% slower, which is like trying to think after a night out drinking, your brain doesn't operate at full speed.

Optical Drive - DVD RW of some sort. I don't need Blu-ray or anything like that, just something that will burn DVD's.

Wi-Fi - 802.11n Wireless as well as Bluetooth. I use Bluetooth regularly to connect my cell phone to the computer to synchronize calendars and contacts.

Keyboard - I prefer keyboards without the number pad, but unfortunately many laptops are now adding that in. I can live with it, but given 2 identical computers I'd choose the one without the number pad. This is because A) I like having my hands centered on the computer screen when I type and B) I never use number pads, not even on desk tops. I don't do much data entry where I need to do 10-key. I don't need an external keyboard, or a docking system.

USB - at least two USB2.0, and 3 or 4 is even better.

Battery - more cells is better, but I wouldn't spend a bunch extra for an extra 40 minutes of battery life. The reality is that laptop batteries don't last that long, and it's not that often I am very far from electricity.

Mouse Pad - I prefer ones with the side scroll bar, and I don't need/want the little button on the keyboard that looks like an eraser (I think Lenovo is the only one this is an option on still).

Computer Bag - my current computer bag is 6 years old and falling apart. If we invest in a new computer, we should get something that will safely carry it. I prefer the backpack style as they are more comfortable and utilitarian than the case style. The messenger bag style is acceptable too.

I don't care a whole lot about specific brands as long as they are a name brand so there is someone standing behind the product if it should fail. I've had HP, Compaq, and Dell and all served me well. Lenovo is the old IBM and is good, and Sony is fine as well. Acer is supposedly making some good computers too, and I'm sure there are others out there.

At this point I have no preference on sound cards and video cards, nor special speaker options. I don't think I need HDMI output. I'm indifferent to having a card reader. A remote control is a nice feature, but not a necessity. I don't need a fancy computer like the Alienware ones, or Apple's Macs for that matter. I am not a huge fan of the super smooth/shiny laptop screens that show every finger print and dust particle. I can live with one but prefer the more matte looking screens.

Software

Microsoft Office 2007 - I regularly use Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook. I also use Publisher from time to time (our membership certificates are Publisher files for instance). I don't use Access, OneNote, Groove, FrontPage, or InfoPath.

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate & VideoStudio Pro X2 Bundle - This is what I have been using to edit videos for church, as well as photos for things like the church directory and the web site. I'd LOVE to have an Adobe Suite, but it is RIDICULOUSLY expensive and I could never justify that cost with how little I would use it. The Corel software is the "good enough" solution. I'd be open to other software if someone has suggestions. We did purchase this bundle for our own computer, and thus far, it has worked flawlessly. The tradeoff is that you don't get lots of powerful options to do higher end editing. Again, not a big concern on my part at this point in our church's life/needs. Right now this bundle is on sale at Amazon.com for $69.99, but I'd want to find out if it is compatable with Windows 7 before purchasing it. And honestly, I don't need the Paint Shop Pro component of this bundle, it is just a nice add-on when looking at how little more the bundle costs than just the VideoStudio by itself. I can use GIMP to edit photos if needed, and that is free.

Something to convert files to Adobe's .pdf format would be nice. I don't even know what is out there, Shawn P probably knows better than I do.

Many of the other programs that I use are free downloads, like the audio extractor I use to rip audio from our video to post sermons on the church website and Podcast feed for iTunes. I use Audacity to edit my sound files, and that is free as well.

That is everything I can think of at this point, but if you see something I overlooked let me know.