[oceanperch]

What do I buy if I just want a laptop to access FR while on the road?

With good battery life.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I've got a Dell 'cause that's what the company buys. Its a Latitude which isn't the lightest thing around, but it can take 2 batteries (one in the floppy bay, since floppies are useless today I keep a USB 256K jumpdrive on my keychain when I have to move data by sneaker net) I've gotten about 6 hours of life out of the batteries doing CAD. Get one with both a modem and the 10 or 100 base T type connector (RJ-45?) because lots of hotels have "free high speed internet".