Asus ftw!
Acer - I've heard nothing but problems from 3 different people with 3 different acer laptops. Each to their own however.
AOpen - A derivative of Acer. Mines still running strong after 3 years. Dont ask me how, but its a lil beast.
Asus - Nothing but good reports so far. Brother has one that is running well.
Dell and HP - Also good.
NEC - Mate has one that is running well also.
Sony - Stay away. No bang for your buck at all. Way overpriced.
Apple - Maybe someone more knowledgeable can answer this one? How about compatability with software/hardware etc? Seems like standard PC would have more available parts, but everything seems to be becoming mac compatible these days.
Note: I have no connections whatsoever to the computer industry