*Rant mode on*
Why can't manufacturers include DVI rather than VGA for external video out? Would it REALLY add that much cost to the laptop?
*Rant mode off*
Looks like a nice laptop, reminds me of my own zv6000, just bigger and better. The resolution is a welcome improvement over those idiots who were trying to sell 17" 1280x800 screens. I'm not sure I quite understand why you would want two hard drives in your laptop, seeing as one 7200RPM one is probably faster, cheaper (per mb), and more reliable (compared to RAID0), but maybe if you ran them in RAID1.... well, whatever. Some talk about Linux compatibility would have been nice, too.
The biggest problem with HP laptops is HP's ABSOLUTELY AWFUL dock, the xb2000. I cannot even fathom how they decided to not put a VGA-out or DVI-out on that thing, and the ugly, awkward way the laptop connects to the dock (a cable!!!) is a disgrace. They may as well have just gone the USB dock route like Dell - they wouldn't have lost much.
That said, the Dell E1705 would be my hands-down choice for a new laptop in that price range, especially once all the crazy coupon deals get factored in. It's nice that Dell is finally starting to include excellent video and sound options at reasonable prices... maybe in a couple years, once the sheen has worn off my 360. About my only complaint is the lack of a "real" docking solution - am I the only one who remembers the glory days of docks, when they had actual PCI slots in them?
-Erwos