Which laptop should I buy? Opinions of computer-savvy people are needed.?

The first Toshiba is probably your best option. However, I recommend that you don't purchase your machine from best buy. You can get much better deals from reputable online stores like Tigerdirect or Newegg. Also, if you're absolutely sure that you will just need the machine for basic use, may I suggest you also consider netbooks? They are designed with high battery life in mind. If I recall correctly, there is a Toshiba model that tested to last for almost 9 hours.