Okay so it has been decided that I need a laptop for nursing school starting in August. I have spent the last couple of days looking at various laptops online, reading reviews, looking in stores at them in person, and I am so totally confused. I am not looking for anything fancy, no gaming, no burning cds, listening/holding tons of music, etc. etc. Just something basic that I can run my microsoft office 2007 on and do some basic day to day stuff on for/at school, something that I would not have any trouble running any outside programs (like study disks that come with college books, etc.) on for studying. Something simple, easy to use, and something that I would not have to wait forever for a program to load. Also one that I can use thumb drives on to hold my notes, etc. I would still have my home desktop if I need to do anything major. I have not decided yet, but I may not even use the laptop for internet although it may be useful at a later time...

So I think that my decision has come down to possibly 2 computers. Here's the links to them.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...%20performance
or
http://www.gateway.com/systems/series/529598024.php

(I've been leaning a little more towards the gateway, but just not sure...) Can I use a thumb drive on either of these?

These would fit my current price range, just need something to get me through the next two years, if I need something better then I can save up. Or if anyone has come across any good deals on a good laptop, please let me know.

So if anyone would care to share their opinions on good laptops, or their opinions on the ones that I have posted, I would be very appreciative!! Thanks!!