yep, the picture book is a great laptop to look into. I would still purchase another battery though. I was running my USB Pre into my VAIO the other night, and finally had to plug in the power to the wall. Electrofuel(I believe thats thier name) makes a product called the Powerpad. It's a flat battery that can boots recording times up to 6+ hours I believe. Does come with a hefty price of about 400, but it's worth it. Also, if your a mac fan, you got the powerbook's nad iBooks....... good luck !