What is a legal gateway?

What is better HP, Dell or Gateway? I have owned a HP Pavillion 8660C for 10 1/2 yrs now & it never broke down?

• Hi, my mom bought me a Gateway DX4710-09 its an all in one combo package deal (the tower, monitor, keyboard, mouse & a canon all in 1 printer) however my brother said he owned a Gateway Desktop and after 4 yrs the motherboard went out on it..now I think he has a Dell laptop. I have a HP and its lasted almost 11 yrs now w/ no probs but it is old & has Windows 98. I really would rather have a HP but I know they are the most expensive. I like to email, chat, YouTube, myspace/facebook, upload pics from my digital camera and I want to start downloading music, burning and ripping CD's. This Gateway she bought me comes with Intel, Duo Core Proc, 6GB, 640GB hard drive, Vistas Home Premium 64bit, Labilflash technology, DL DVD +/- RW/CD-RW drive (what does that mean by the way)..anyway I love that it has 6 GB..I know Gateway was big about 10 yrs ago but has gone downhill since..I would like to keep the computer or 10 yrs like I have with this one I have now. I didn't buy this one..someone else picked it out but it sure has been very good to me! Thanks so much in advance for your help! I need all the help I can get. lol

• Answer:

  Ten years is a long time to own a computer. After 5 years you are running a dinosaur. If it lasts past five years you are doing good. They are all ok as long as you keep them well maintained. Clean up your hard drives once a month, get rid of unused programs, and make sure you get the dust out of the inside of the computer every three months. If you do that it will last a long time.