Please re-read my post.  All windows xp, and vista products qualify for the windows 7 upgrade (see technet if you doubt me).  If you bought software assurance and ms os this year you also qualify (that is one of the big sellers of software assurance).  Also, I was not saying faster specs=better hardware I was saying apples to apples better hardware in a quality large vendor product say hp, dell, ibm, or any of the biggies.  Also, the lines between consumer-grade and professional-grade are so blurred it is difficult to tell.  Did you know that ASUS has surpassed all other vendors in support (Dell, HP, Lenovo, all of them)?  If you have interacted with Lenovo or HP recently you know why.  To your last point as you are obviously a person who understands support.  The answer on what hardware, software, network equipment, or any other technology question has always been and will always be IT DEPENDS.  No one size fits anything.  I am just saying from a bang for your buck.  That is the best value for your money.  If you have the commodity of time and I admit that is a commodity then new will always win over used.  I am not saying that used it not plausible in some scenarios I am saying for the majority of them if you have the time to do the research, shopping buying etc.. which is hugely time consuming.  So to your other point what if what if,, well that is always going to be there and there is always going to be exceptions.  However if you save enough on the hardware and software you can have spares (hot or cold) your choice sitting around as stand ins if anything does go wrong.  It is the same concept as virtualization, or cloud computing extended to a hardware viewpoint. 

@gimber48 I'm not suggesting that you can't upgrade Windows XP Home, or Windows Vista Home products to Windows 7 Professional.  I'm telling you that you can't do it for $12 here at TechSoup because the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade here is only qualified by Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate.  Check the description here on TechSoup.  "You cannot upgrade from the Home editions of Windows XP or Windows Vista."  Its not a technical issue, its a licensing issue.  I'd said you could do it for about $80-$150.

ASUS's support for my power adapter isn't the issue, the issue is that something happened to it to begin with.  Its a common problem with their power adapters for the model of netbook I have, which covers actually more than one model.  When I called for an RMA, they told me sure they'd set it up, then I got an email stating they were out of stock and I would receive one when they were ready.  I never got another communication about it and never received a replacement.  And regardless, I would have received a replacement model that had the same problems because they hadn't made any changes to the power supplies.

And as I said, I agree with you on certain points, but we will have to agree to disagree on business-grade vs consumer-grade.  Happy trails!

Good points and you are right about the license issue we were discussing. For my particular case.  We purchased several OS licenses from Microsoft with Software assurance.  That does entitle us to upgrade to the same flavor of windows 7.  I do see your point now about off the shelf inexpensive licenses usually are home edition or lower. 

As far as your power adapter.  I can point to you numerous problems at Dell, HP, and Lenovo with similar stuff.  For instance I have had laptop orders with them for 2 months that have been delayed 6 times without one single notification.  All due to the blue ray players we ordered in them.  There is a difference between consumer-grade and business-grade.  I am just saying that those lines are not as well finite as they used to be.  It used to be that a latitude (business-grade) was simply a better computer than their studio line(consumer-grade).  I would not say that is the case anymore.  I have had just as many issues with their Latitude Line as I have their Studio line.  You have to admit that computer support in general has become well...... a time consuming chore for IT.  They all have supply issues and faults in their systems it is the nature of the business.  Regards,   

If you want to compare the Dell Studio laptops to the Lattitude laptops, I'm ok with that.  Dell Studio laptops are usually more expensive than the Lattitudes and thus come with more robust, better hardware than the $300 new laptop market offers up.  Noone was using Dell Studios as a reason to buy new instead of used.  Sorry to hear about your BlueRay replacement experience.  You're right, no one manufacturer can claim 100% customer satisfaction that I'm aware of, unless maybe they only sell a few computers a year. 

gimper48,

This is just FYI, Asus does most of the OEM manufacturing, parts support and repairs for Hewlett Packard. So i don't see how one would surpass the other. Secondly, as a past employee at Asus I can tell you really aren't getting the service you think. I saw so many customers wronged, given insufficiently tested used parts (which resulted in customer having to send thier unit in 3 or more times), given inferior parts from what was in thier unit, etc... Besides that the management of this company is very racist against Americans & treats thier employees like slaves. The facility I worked for alone has a long list of lawsuits against them with EEOC, tax evasion and contract violations. Good luck with your Asus netbook, I hope it doesn't break down on you!

Ok.  well we are not talking about the same things here.  You are talking about a personal experience.  I am talking about overall support.  not to detract from your experience but that is not apples to apples.  Secondly because you get a part from xyz does not mean you have any clue how to support it.  Again not the same thing  sorry for your experience it sounds miserable.