The XPS are expensive. But the best deal is still at deal. Buy a barebones system and upgrade the video and ram.

Check http://www.slickdeals.net/ once in awhile until they have a decent deal on a barebones Dell 9xxx system, or any of the larger ones with good power supplies. Buy it with as little ram and as cheap of a video as you can get, than slap in some ram and a 4750 and you're good to go. Dell doesn't change the power supply with the case, so if the model you're buying can be bought with an 8800 or 4500, then the power supply is strong enough for them (even if it just says 350).

Battery life is the number one problem with the EEE. What's the point of a tiny laptop if you have to plug it in wherever you go? If this thing really lasts 7 hours, that's huge.

WiiWare info: http://www.warioworld.com/apply/wii.html

Nintendo does have a plan for this: WiiWare. It's specifically for indie developers to get their work out to a huge audience without having to worry about all the red-tape and financial junk that goes along with full retail development. Nintendo checks for bugs and sets the price, but leaves everything else up to you, including getting your application rated by the ESRB. Unfortunately, they've released almost no further information on it.

Good luck with that. Go ahead and try and get a Wii dev kit as an amateur. They won't sell it to you. They vet you just as much as a full blown developer, you need to form your own corporation with its own business address (can't work from home), and you need experience with retail games. Then they'll consider selling one to you for 2,000 dollars. The only other way to get one is to get the support of a well known publisher and before you go to Nintendo.