Here is a quick report I whipped up.  You will need to add an additional join for your table which holds the asset type info (laptop, desktop, server, etc.).  This report gives pc name, serial number and acquisition date.  We created our own table for storing asset type in our company.  Hope this helps! 

P.S.  I don't know why the lines broke up like this when I cut and pasted...
Dave

select

vcomputer.name, va.[Serial Number],CONVERT(varchar,AI.[Available for Use], 101)AS [Acquisition Date]

from

vcomputer

inner

join vasset va on va._resourceguid = vcomputer.guid

inner

join Inv_accounting_information ai on ai._resourceguid = vcomputer.guid

where

AI.[Available for Use] > '05/31/2009'

order

by AI.[Available for Use],vcomputer.name

 Dave gave a good example to get familiar with running asset reports. I have found from my experiences that VComputer and Vasset are the best two views to join and select columns from. Note: VComputer will only show you Active computers. We had some skewed reports because of this until we realized what was happening. VAsset will show any status. You can filter VAsset with a where clause such as:
 
where va.status like 'Active'
or
where va.status like 'Retried'
etc...

I typically use outer join statements, but it will depend on your reporting needs. I also often join the Inv_AeX_AC_Identification table for more info.

When it comes to receiving dates you might have to join in other tables depending how you are entering your assets into Altiris. We had to build an association between the computer and PO since they were entered separately.

Hope this helps.
 

How do you define a computer or a laptop as received? Is it a customized column or you are talking about the procurement/receiving feature of Asset Management? Can you give a clear sample so people can help you figuring it out? Cheers.

This is out of the box which is even better! 

We input the date received in the Accounting data class - Available for use through a data import we create.  Once it hits the inventory server and is synced up to the Altiris database, it will show Active and managed.
We also do not add an asset to the database until it connects to the inventory server.  This keeps duplicate records from being created (you may have the same serial number but different GUID's created if you import your new asset data before the asset connects to the network).  At least thats the way it is here...  We run a  monthly report of assets purchased that month against what is in Altiris.  If it matches up, then we import the purchase info (PO#, purch date, etc.) into that record.  If it doesnt match up, then we keep a spreadsheet of new assets purchased that have not connected yet.  This gives us a quick way to follow up with the proper ordereing group why they are not yet connected.

Hope this helps some...
Dave