Thomas,
You should also consider the Dell Inspiron laptops.  I have an Inspiron 7000
with the 15" active matrix display, P-II 400MHz, 128MB ram, ATI rage w/4MB
ram, and DVD.  The Inspirons also have the S-video connector as well as USB
and the other usual connectors.  It comes with the decoding software for
DVD.  I love mine.  This model is pricy though.  You can order this model or
the 3500 with slower P-II or Celerons and smaller screen displays to reduce
costs.  For more info, go to http://www.dell.com .

Jerry Rasmussen
Rasmussen & Bucklin Associates
Coral Springs FL
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-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Thomas Holmes

     We are intent on acquiring a laptop that will read and decode DVD-ROM &
CD-ROM disks and communicate both the video and the Dolby Surround audio to
a
big screen home theater installation.  We hope to display screens from
educational CD-ROMS and some PowerPoint presentations.  This appears very
complicated to the uninitiated.
     The IBM ThinkPad i 1478 appears to fit the bill....

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