Netbooks are the new Razor Scooter

I love my netbook for web apps - running FF in fullscreen mode gives you a solid extra inch of screen real estate and when I'm chilling on the couch after work The tiny form factor is actually pretty handy. Plus, the price is such that I don't feel like I need to think twice about taking it with my everywhere on the off chance that it might get dropped/stolen.<p>It's also the ideal device for streaming Hulu or Netflix before bed.

well, i disagree with some of the points of the article as a netbook owner ($350 1000HE)<p>the battery life issue is dubious. my netbook with default battery lasts for about 6 hours. its advertised at about 9, but thats at low settings, i need a brighter screen. but the point is, 6 hours is still long, much longer than the reported "at most 2".<p>talking about how netbooks have problems running a lot of programs or powerful programs is obvious. of course an atom processor and 512 of ram is going to have problems with outlook and eclipse open. netbooks aren't designed to replace full powered computers. they're designed to run simple stuff and web apps. if you need more, don't buy a netbook. don't try and roll your razor scooter down the interstate.<p>screen res and quality is valid, but you kind of get used to it.

Many of the author's problems can be solved with a minimalistic linux distro and a lightweight window manager.<p>From my own experience, an MSI wind has great battery life running Arch (around 5 hours, minimum). And xmonad allows one to make good use of the display (no annoying toolbars, ect...)

I think the OP fails to understand what a netbook is for. It's not your primary PC, it really does do a lousy job for that. And when trying to do so, it is going to have poor battery life, and performance problems executing demanding software.<p>But as a highly-portable tool for note-taking, i.e, "book" and quick access to webmail and calendar, i.e., "net", it's satisfactory.<p>Not that it's great, but I don't think the items cited are the faults. My biggest complaint is that note-taking can be tough because of the cramped keyboard.

Yes, it's over-hyped as much as the Razor was but these days every kid on our block has a Razor and plays with it and I'm sure the netbook will become just as ubiquitous.<p>No, it doesn't solve your problem but it's perfectly suitable in others; I have a 1005HA and love it! I use it primarily to write and when bored I can play Diablo II or even World of Warcraft. No, it's not going to play the latest FPS but I didn't buy it for that.

I use my netbook whenever I travel - I can write articles and do moderate amounts of software development<p>It is also cheap enough that I am not too concerned with it getting lost or broken<p>I get a legitimate 4-5 hours of battery life (tested - I fly Hawaii to Los Angeles)<p>Genius headline though. Caught my attention. <i>sigh</i>

Screen res is not an issue for me. I always plug into a desktop monitor when I'm at home or the office (usually with a KVM switch). When I'm on the road, I'll gladly trade off the size and weight for screen size.

Netbooks rule on airplanes. That's why I got mine.