Laptops?

[Bushmaster2k4]

Apple computers are good, but they are often more expensive than pc's. Also there aren't nearly as many games available for macs as there are pc's. You are absolutely right about less viruses and spyware because mac OSX is unix based which is much harder to create viruses for. I would never buy a dell laptop, toshiba's are decent all around, thinkpads are very nice, they have great battery life, but they aren't exactly power houses when it comes to gaming. A dell will serve its purpose but it will likely break in the process of doing so, and you'll be stuck calling up india for customer support.

[gimp]

I'd look into IBM. I've had 2 of their laptops, my father has one and we havn't had any problems. It's been great, no problems, great performance. Kinda pricey though. Look into the T42s.

[Bluestrike_2]

Not by much...

With the educational pricing:

Mac mini - $479
iMac G5 1.6 GHz 17" - $1199
iMac G5 1.8 GHz 17" - $1399
iMac G5 1.8 GHz 20" - $1799

12" iBook CD ROM - $899
12" iBook Combo Drive - $949
14" iBook Combo Drive - $1199
14" iBook Super Drive - $1399

12" PowerBook Combo Drive - $1399
12" PowerBook Supe Driver - $1499
15" PowerBook Combo Drive - $1799
15" PowerBook Super Drive - $2099
17" PowerBook w/ Super Drive - $2399

I also included some Apple desktops in case you go that route...

http://www.apple.com/ibook/

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

http://www.apple.com/imac/

Games: Halo, Unreal Tournament, Quake III, WoW, Battlefield 1942, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor,
Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, The Sims, Sim City, and many, many others.

If you want more, get a console. However, your computer should serve you for college, not games. Games are nice, but make a decision on what will help your productivity in class, etc. That is much more important.