Laptop Help

Those chains don't exist outside of the US.

I'd go with the Dell. I've got quite a few friends with Latitudes and XPS - Two years ago I was of the opinion that Dells were universally total shite, but I've heard nothing but good things since. They're not very pretty (my friend's 17" XPS is twice the thickness and weight of my MBP and has slightly lower specs), but they're robust and give you more bang for less buck... Quid.

Vaios are really quite dire. They come full to the brim with bloatware - I inherited an old PCG ultraportable model from my mother, and immediately did a clean install of XP to wipe out the shitty software suites that they'd thoughtfully bundled. Getting drivers for the damn things is also a nightmare - Took me a few days of searching to find absolutely everything, and when eventually I'd got it running to an OK degree, I discovered that they don't actually provide the drivers for the webcam. Or the volume buttons. Or any of the function keys. Drivers from Sony? You'd have more luck with blood from a stone.

The batteries they provide are quite poor, too.

Jam it back in, in the dark.