New laptop/ultrabook suggestion for parents?

Hey all... I have been out of the loop in regards to laptops for a while and hoping some of you can help. My parents asked me to recommend them a new laptop/ultrabook... and below I will list what I know: (see last point for important info)


1. What is your budget?
$1200 or less.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15" class

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Does not matter.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Portable.

5. How much battery life do you need?
4-5+ hours would be ideal. So pretty much a lot.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop?
No

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop?
Basic office uses. Maybe light photo/video editing. Nothing serious.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Not important. but I would *really* like an SSD in this machine.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Does not matter.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Til it dies.


11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? DVD writer for sure. Blu-Ray would be nice but not mandatory.


12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
HP, Lenovo, Asus, Dell. Its not super important.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Things that I think are important:

SSD. (I will put this in myself if necessary!)
Not HOT temp. wise.
Somewhat light.
Good battery.


Thanks!!!!