Harriette - can you post details?
There are many options, but for example:
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=171958
Am I right in thinking that my laptop is inherently protected because of the built-in battery?
In my opinion, the laptop battery will protect you from brownouts, but not from a power surge. You should use a power strip with enough surge protection for computer equipment (there are different surge protection levels).
I don't think a brownout will affect a transformer, but if it does, a power cable is cheap enough to replace.