>Next time, go with Dell. You can tell them to not install the crapware.
Actually there was a next time already - bought one for my wife, because I was thinking it's about the last time you can get XP on it. It's a Toshiba, with minimum crapware which I was able to push aside in an hour. Now after two years, it's still as good and reliable.
Had two Dells in my hands, and just couldn't get used to the keyboard layout. Arrows in wrong place. And I can switch layouts at the drop of a hat - I keep five language layouts installed, and used to switch machines dozen times a day, each one with a slightly different layout (that was before the keyboard drivers were standardized, and before the layout for our 5 special characters was set in stone).