All laptops will have wired ethernet, and all centrino laptops will have that and wireless built-in. You can always add wireless with a PCMCIA card if you don't buy a centrino laptop. If you've ever built a desktop computer before and want to save some $$$ look into the 'powered by Asus' barebone centrino notebooks. You buy the barebone notebook and add your own CPU, ram, and hard drive. I believe they come with a standard 2 year warranty as well that can be extended.

I would personally recommend the eMachines M6807. I have the M6805 model, which is basically the same, save for a lack of a DVD +/- RW drive. I've had it for a couple months now, and it's been running great for me. You can look at the specs for yourself, I was blown away by them. In almost every category the M6807 is better than almost every other laptop on the market. And unless things have changed, it's still the only notebook with a 64-bit processor.

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'People cling to their rotten memories, to all their misfortunes, and you can't pry them loose. These things keep them busy. They avenge themselves for the injustice of the present by smearing the future inside them with shit. They're cowards deep down, and just. That's their nature.'
-Louis-Ferdinand Céline
"Journey to the End of the Night"

save up 1000 more and get a powerbook 17 inch. I have never regreted the purchase. I am using it with the Airport extreme, so when i transfer betwen computers wirelessly i am sending at 3 MB/s

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Maynard James Keenan:
Like hearing my grandmother, talk to her dog that way -- "Ooo
-- puppy!" and I said I'd never do that, ever! And now I have two
dogs and I talk like an imbecile! I wander around, "Ooo! You want
food!" I've turned into a f*cking moron.