Help in selecting laptop

[Dale Morris <dlm@well.com>]

I'm looking to purchase a laptop, probably used and I want to install
debian linux on it.  Can anyone point me to a good source or suggest a
brand or particular configuration? I'm not so concerned about speed,
but it might be nice to be able to hear/watch a cd..  I want to keep
price below $700 if possible.. I plan to be using it abroad (Africa)
in the future, so reliability is important. I'm not sure about power
source but a converter will surely do the trick. I've done some
research, seems the modem can be a snag.. 
thanks