[TriLUG] Debian on a laptop

[Grawburg]

Folks,
I'm growing weary of trying to get Debian on a laptop. And remember, I MUST use Debian so as to keep me "in-sync" with the Raspberry Pi I have coming.
I first tried my Thinkpad R30 and just got sick of the mouse movement being jerky.
I have now put it on a Dell 8500 Inspiron but the application icons are crappy looking and the mouse pointer has a weird shadow.

I need a recommendation for a used laptop that will take Debian without my having to do a whole lot.  I'm still too new to Unix-based systems  and I don't have the time to do what you guys do by second nature.

Thanks,
Brian Grawburg