re: What kind of laptop/notebook computer would you recommend for a 17 year old girl in school?
One with "invisible" custom filtering software installed. You don't know just how big and unsafe the internet is until a teenager with a laptop goes online. They make some great stuff now that is totally custom and fairly safe from being detected or removed by even the most savvy computer literate teens.
Dell & Compaq both make pretty good laptops.
;-)