Laptop specs...

Well of those Vaio families only four (of nine) fit the screen size requirements. Three are widescreen, one isn't - so that should narrow it down a bit further. I'll guess that pricing will eliminate a few more - you should be down to a couple. Go to a store and look at the shortlistee's - and see which you prefer.

Agree with chengdude that Dells laptop range is uninspired at best - well the Latitude's not bad, but you're not looking for that type of system. The Despairons just look fugly IMO.

Boo Sony Vaio AR range is so expensive :-(

Your questions:
1) Yes.
2) No, but it's probably a budget brand. You really ought to thoroughly research budget brands/models (true for all laptops, really), be able to ask hard questions of the seller, and poke around before buying. The less information (reviews, user's opinons, support forums, etc.) you find for a brand, the more likely you want to ignore it.
3) Just do the math: how many USB devices do you envision plugged in simultaneously? If it's a keyboard & mouse to make it like a home PC, then there's your 2 ports used up right there. Where are you going to plug in the camera? On the other hand, if you're out on the road all the time and using your laptop for mobile productivity, tons of USB ports aren't going to be as big a priority.

From that brief introduction, your mate sounds like an idiot...and not really your mate for confusing you even more. Frankly, a rule I use for myself is: If I start to write technogibberish like
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>you have to think about how far the memory chip is from (something) and what kind of cash you get (1g L2 cash is apparently nothing)<hr></blockquote>
then it's time to get back to reality and remember that I'm in control, not the technology.

So how about this:
1) Pick a screen size. 15.4" is the most popular these days and so there's going to be the most choices there. Then decide if you want a "super glossy" or a regular screen. It's important; you need to look at it every day. The glossy screens are the most popular, so there'll again be more choice there.
2) Set your budget.
3) Choose models made by known manufacturers that fit the above. Dell, HP, Acer, and Toshiba are the biggest brands pushing the widest array of models for the widest array of prices. That also gives you the best chance of seeing them in person and/or reading lots of reviews and user's opinions online...and fixing them if something goes wrong. Forget Sony, nice looking but overpriced. There are other great brands (I like Asus), so if you see a model and it fits your budget, research it.
4) Don't fall for all the technobabble; it's not worth the headache.
5) If the processor is an Intel and is numbered from: T2300-T2700 or T5500-T7600, it will be fine.
6) 1 GB of RAM is great, 2 GB is the very best...BUT companies love overcharging for RAM, so if you like a model of computer and it's in your budget, but only has 512 MB, don't worry. You can always add more RAM yourself later. It's easy, usually just a few screws.
7) Get a big hard drive (80GB/5400RPM should be the minimum), but again watch the numbers because manufacturers like to overcharge for bigger/faster drives...if it goes out of budget, step back...you can always buy an external hard drive for more storage. Don't fret about speeds of the drive...most these days will say "5400 RPM", which is fine. If you can afford a 7200, even better, but again, 120GB/5400 is better than 80GB/7200...more space in the former and who care if it take an extra 2 seconds to open your program?
8) If you want to make your own DVD's, make sure you get a DVD drive that says "super-multi" or "RW" or something like that. If you don't want to make DVD's, then a "combo" drive will be sufficient...you can play DVD's and make your own CD's, but cannot make your own DVD's.
9) Make sure it has enough USB ports for your needs.
10) Finally, the graphics. The base will be Intel GMA 950. That's enough for most things. However, if your budget alllows, you can get something with a separate graphics card. Don't be pushed into going overboard with huge amounts of graphics ("you really need this GeForce Go with 512 MB Turbocache...it rocks!!!!!!!). If you see something with 128MB of "dedicated graphics memory" and it's in the budget, that would be great...64MB is OK, too. 256MB-512MB is more for gaming, graphics & modelling applications, super heavy-duty photo/video processing, and bragging rights.

Good luck and have fun...shopping is supposed to be fun!

Dell: You've seen 'em
HP: dv6000 series
Toshiba: Satellite A100 series
Fujitsu Siemens: Amilo P series
Acer: Aspire 5000 series
Asus: A6 or F3 series

Wow thank you very much!

A friend of mine (not the same as above) says that those brands are not very good for reliability especially not Acer and Asus & I can't remember why but he hates Sony.

He said the best one is Lenovo for reliability & what you get for your money. He said it's the company that bought (I think) IBM thinkpad which was the best ever & wouldn't break unless you dropped it on concrete.

& he said that we should get XP instead of Vista (I don't care either way) as it take up 0.5gb of RAM & doesn't do anything that XP doesn't do.

& what about widescreen vs non-widescreen screens AND shiny vs non-shiny screens?

Widescreen: fits movies better, people like shiny things, cheaper because of popularity, more choice/availabilty
Standard screen: increasingly only found on business-range laptops, becoming a niche product in manufacturers' range
Glossy: photos/movies look more vibrant, people like shiny things, more choice/availability/better prices because of popularity
Matte: no annoying glare in brightly lit environments, can't do your make-up while surfing online

Lenovo is OK, too. Yes, they own the ThinkPad business in additon to building their own range of laptops. Sorry, I'll disagree with that view of Asus. Acer, on the other hand, does take some hits for quality, but the company has been growing at such a blistering pace I suppose that's inevitable.

Anyway, go online to manufacturer's websites, find models with features you want and in your price range, use their "find a dealer" feature, go out to play with them, see which ones float your boat...then go back and check reviews/user's opinions. Buy the one that hits the best combination of notes.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>He said the best one is Lenovo for reliability & what you get for your money. He said it's the company that bought (I think) IBM thinkpad which was the best ever & wouldn't break unless you dropped it on concrete.

& he said that we should get XP instead of Vista (I don't care either way) as it take up 0.5gb of RAM & doesn't do anything that XP doesn't do.<hr></blockquote>

Lenovo ThinkPads are the best. They might not break even if you drop them on concrete. I know because I've dropped mine on concrete from waist level while running and the computer was fine (that was over a year ago). I have the T-43 and it's great. It was more expensive than other brands, but worth it. I bought the next-day, at-home service plan and when it recently had a problem they sent someone over the next day and he replaced the motherboard for free while I waited. No questions asked.

Definitely choose XP over Vista (if those are your only two choices).

Using Dell as an example:

How much difference would it make to have:
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5200 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB) - free
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5600 (1.83 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB) - £94.00
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.0 GHz, 4 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB) - £176.25

How much is extra RAM worth - if going from 1Gb to 2Gb costs £152.75 - is that a normal price & worth it?

What about size of hard drive. If both are the same size - what difference woudl 5,400rpm vs 7,200rpm be & is it worth £23.50?

Then comparing:
- Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
- 256MB ATI® Mobility™ Radeon® X1400 HyperMemory™ graphics card
For £70.50 - aparently it's needed for Vista (don't have XP as option).

Thanx again!

I would spend the money on the 7,200 hard drive and the graphics card. The RAM is insanely priced, but they're probably replacing 2 X 512 MB (rather than 1 X 1GB) for the 2 GB, so there's a bit of cost there in addition to the blatant profiteering. As long as it's a Core 2 Duo, I think you'll be happy...not a big deal for general computing tasks and certainly worth allocating that upgrade money for better graphics performance.