I've recently had a horrific long-term experience with Gateway (owned by Acer) which, in fact, I'm still going through. I haven't bought a computer since, say, 2002, and I'm horrified at how terrible computer companies have become -- specifically Gateway and Acer who I pledge to NEVER buy from again. It seems that every computer company has their support in India where they don't train the people, and it also seems that the parts used in computers today are cheap, cheap, cheap and defective. I'll be going to college soon, and I want a computer that's:

1) first and foremost, reliable, and won't quit on me like this Gateway laptop has.

2) I don't want to buy from some company like Gateway or Acer where they couldn't give a **** for their customers -- where they have their support in India, and are secretive when it comes to their corporate and repair facility phone number out of fear of customer backlash. I'd like to buy from a company that actually cares about their customers, and preferably has support here in the United States, or at least close to it. And, of course, support where the people won't chew your head off just for calling.

Might anyone have any recommendations as to where to take my business to? I've heard terrible things about HP, Dell, Gateway, Acer... the whole shebang. I'm not looking for perfection; just which is better than the rest.