Summer's here, so you know what that means: It's time to help your Dad or grad hit the road -- and a laptop is a great start. First, by figure out what will be done with the new notebook. For frequent flyers, ultraportables are costly, but key. Many weigh less than three pounds and can keep you productive for a whole cross-country flight (some laptop makers swear their machines can last up to 10 hours now). Other models also offer a good deal of power, depending on how much you care to lug around. Want an elegant alternative to your clunky monitor and PC combo? Beefy desktop replacement machines pack 17-inch displays and sport slick entertainment features such as a TV tuner or Blu-ray Disc drive. But if price is really a sticking point (isn't it for everyone these days?) you can find good machines for under $1,000 at this point--namely, netbooks. These slimmed down, low-powered laptops are technically the new ultraportables, but with ultra-attractive prices. On average, you can buy one of these basic notebooks for as low as $300. Of course, they aren't good for much more than emailing, basic document creation and Web surfing.

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