My mom might get me a laptop for Christmas and I want to show her the kinds I want. The only problem is I don't know what the good computer are. So far I found out that acer is good and dell is horrible(thats from experience). I would love to have a macbook pro but I don't think she could get that! The computer will mostly be used for watching Netflix and doing school essays. Any suggestions?

Any machine with a dual core processor and 4g of Ram should be fine. I would go for something with a better graphics card.

HP is the top selling computer maker.

So much of this, at least as a user of computers, is a persons opinion and own experience. For example, I still have and use a dell lap top that is almost 7 years old. I use it as the main office computer for my youth center, after carrying with me on the road for several years. I found their warranty great, their customer service better than any I have ever had. I bought a new lap top this year and yes it was a dell. My wife on the other hand has always used HP the last 6 years,

With all of them virus , which is not their issue but attacks them, has been the main issue.