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whowillsurvive2012.com - The Mayan Calendar predicts the end of time: 2012. See the trailer for 2012, opening November 13.
74 Comments
- ileftfark, on 04/04/2009, -1/+28That is one way to look at it, but I see it a different way... Most people will still have their full-featured desktop or notebook at home, buying netbooks *in addition to* what they already have. Netbooks are not a desktop replacement. So what we have is not people gravitating toward simpler computers; they're actually gravitating toward more complicated mobile computing devices. Why squint to read an email on a PDA and type using a stylus when you have a full keyboard and a 9" screen on a device that will fit in a coat pocket? These are not simpler computers, they're more complicated mobile computing devices.
- ljdmd, on 04/03/2009, -3/+29A fascinating paradigm shift is underway in computers, instead of Moore's law now their getting simpler smaller and slower, as the net takes over.
- freeridstylee, on 04/04/2009, -3/+17Does it take one and a half years for old tech news to filter down to the ny times?
- inactive, on 04/04/2009, -0/+12NICE
its frustrating when you buy a laptop precisely for portability but its heavy enough to be a pain in the ass, literally, when you carry it around in your backpack - mdesbiens2532, on 04/04/2009, -2/+13Dugg strictly because i'm sitting on my HP Mini 1000 at Starbucks right now.
- MarkusX, on 04/04/2009, -0/+10Interesting way to look at it. Hmm....
- zombiecarlin, on 04/04/2009, -0/+10Any smug looking tools around you showing off their Macbooks?
- MarkusX, on 04/04/2009, -0/+10Yeah right, that's for sure my next purchase.
With a decent 3G express card in it, I'll be set for real mobility. - TheEngineer2008, on 04/04/2009, -0/+8@ileftfark.
That's what I'm looking for. Why lug a 17" laptop on trips just to check email, Tweet a couple of things, and read an occasional article when I could just toss a device with a full keyboard capable of this (plus some word processing and other basic tasks) in my pocket or suitcase? - Sealbhach, on 04/04/2009, -0/+7A Linux costs $3. Wow, that's cheap.
- PhairOh, on 04/04/2009, -0/+6I thought the same thing when I read the title, but if you read the article you will see that it is referring to the upcoming breed of netbooks and not what is currently available.
- freeridstylee, on 04/04/2009, -0/+6Why would it matter to you if they take off or not, it's not like they're going to stop making normal sized notebooks.
- bringitontimx, on 04/04/2009, -0/+5MSI Wind - $498 = 10", 1024x600, 2GB DDR2-667, 160GB HDD, 802.11b/g/n, 6-Cell Battery.
badass.
($480 + $18 for the ram at newegg) - ThantiK, on 04/04/2009, -0/+5Unfortunately netbooks are getting bloated now...people are adding dvd players to them, going on 12" screens, 300gb hard drives.
I'm quite happy with an 8.9" screen, 4gb drive, running eeebuntu on my 900a. I DO wish they'd make a netbook with an ARM processor though in tthis form factor. I don't want more feature bloat. I want more battery life. A comparable netbook with ARM processor/specs would last 8-12 hours whereas this piece of crap x86 will only last 3-4...and generally ARM processors have H.264 decoders built in, so you can watch a movie on your "low power" machine and still not use more than 15% of your processor.
And don't even get me started on this crap with the discreet 3d video cards on netbooks...if your trying to game on a netbook......your doing it wrong. - michaelpinto, on 04/04/2009, -4/+9Dumb terminals aren't a new idea — it may be the oldest model of computing.
- wakeupsticky, on 04/04/2009, -3/+8The NY Times should be more concerned about what's going to reshape the newspaper industry.
- TVarmy, on 04/04/2009, -0/+5I think it's really more that we've reached the point where we realize what we'll actually use the computers for, and don't want to overbuy. It's like how CES always has bigger and bigger TVs, but smaller TVs still sell because they're cheaper, fit in more places, and do their purpose just fine.
That's not to say there's no point in fast computers. It's just that right now, most consumer uses don't really strain a fast computer that much. For games, video/photo manipulation and DVD ripping, a fast computer is great, but those aren't universal needs. - james188foster, on 04/04/2009, -1/+5I understand that Intel limit an Atom powered device to a 10" 1024x600 screen. This is one reason why Samsung choose the Via Nano for their NC20 netbook. It is a 64bit chip, has out of ordering processing etc and is more powerful than the Atom. The Atom is a total waste of time. It has the performance of a Pentium 3 era CPU. Intel don't want People to trade down from their Core 2 Laptops. Anyway Qualcomm are about to kill off the Atom with the Snapdragon. Toshiba are about to release the TG01 which carries a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU but has 0.5W TDP. Intel will never get their x86 CPUs into Smartphones ever.
The other point is that these latest bigger screen netbooks are almost as expensive as the cheapest Acer and HP Laptops that have a much bigger higher resolution screen, bigger hard drive, more ports, better graphics, a more modern OS and of course a Core 2 CPU. The whole point of the original ASUS EEE PC was that it was much cheaper than even the most lowest budget Laptops. - DudeInAustin, on 04/04/2009, -0/+4I have an Acer Aspire One and love it. I gave my daughter my HP notebook once I got the Acer. It is small enough to carry around without getting tired of the weight. The one knock on it is the standard three-cell battery is not enough for more than a couple of hours. They make a six-cell and I may order one.
- inactive, on 04/04/2009, -1/+5Most of the world still doesn't have a computer. This is going to help get those people connection to the net.
- nixw, on 04/04/2009, -1/+5Sweet. My Dad's been an ARM computer processor fan since the mid 80s so I grew up using computers built with these chips (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes anyone familiar?). Dad likes to remind his tech friends that they run in then majority of portable devices. Will seriously make my Dad's year if they make a come back in laptops.
I'm also looking forward to being able to run Ubuntu on one of these machines in the near future http://blog.canonical.com/?p=74. - SpiceWare, on 04/04/2009, -0/+3My understanding is it's because Microsoft limits the Netbook hardware specs for those who want to license XP. I first noticed this when a friend was checking out the Dell Mini 9 (after he saw my Acer Aspire One) as the Linux model allow more RAM (2GB) than the XP model (1GB).
The following link is to an article from when Microsoft's increased the max hard drive capacity from 80 to 160 GB. It also mentions the 1GB RAM limit, screen limit, etc.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Microsoft-Netbook ... - rolan1bp, on 04/04/2009, -0/+3Note that they mention Facebook and their test group was teenagers. I think they may have designs on another demographic...
- AJL221893, on 04/04/2009, -0/+3I recently bought a linux operated asus netbook for $180 - http://digg.com/u1CWc
It's taken awhile to get used to the tiny keyboard, and more often that not when my friends see it they think it looks more like a toy than anything, but it's been a great addition to my 17 inch laptop I have in the dorm that is too much of a hassle to carry around. For $180, the ease in portability is definitely worth it, even if it still looks somewhat goofy. - Spiderbrigade, on 04/04/2009, -0/+3...and you don't think that the increasing availablity and cheapness of mobile net-capable devices has an impact on the news industry? One of the key features of the newspaper has always been that you can grab one at any newsstand, take it on the train with you, read it at the coffee shop, put it in your briefcase for later. Now that you can just grab news from *any source* and read it on your netbook, a lot of those advantages go away.
- JAGUART, on 04/04/2009, -2/+5It's because the slimpler, smaller and slower people are getting around to using them.
- g3r4, on 04/04/2009, -0/+3Well, hopefully, they don't merge. I don't really know how they would, anyway... Cell phones are small so they can be held to you face. And, in my opinion, larger screens are better for viewing anything on the web.
And you can't really put those two things together. (Unless projectors get small enough to be placed into a phone, where clarity is as good as a screen and has some sort of stabilizing feature, so as you move your phone around, the projected image stays in place.) - CalcProgrammer1, on 04/04/2009, -1/+4I bought a laptop because I could move it. Note I said "move it" and not "portability". I bought a laptop because it offers good enough performance for powerful apps, games, etc, a nice 17" screen, and can still be taken to class in a backpack. Honestly, if you're worried that carrying a laptop around is heavy, try carrying books. My backpack feels weightless when all that's in it is my laptop; my calculus book is like twice the weight of my laptop alone.
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2DEC ruled. Arm and the Alpha were both industry killing CPUs that DEC couldn't monetize but Intel could.
- nyxerebos, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2Yeah, I think I might take to carrying around a full-sized keyboard in a holster, but otherwise I love the idea of netbooks.
- zoziw, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2With most of my gaming having migrated to consoles and most of my computing time spent on the net and email, a netbook makes quite a bit of sense for me.
The problem now (for these companies) is that I purchased two laptops back in 2005 (an iBook and a HP) and both are still more than adequate for my needs. The long and the short of it is that, unless one breaks, I'm out of the new computer market for the foreseeable future.
I don't think I am alone. - DangerCollie, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2Never, just like g3r4 says. The advantage of netbooks over say my Blackberry is screen size and a keyboard. Unless they make human hands smaller and human eyes better, that's not likely going to change. Put that size screen on a phone and it's no longer something that will fit in your pocket.
I think you'd be more likely to see a Bluetooth headset for a netbook with the phone features integrated into the netbook. Which would be right way to do it. Then you could see who was calling when you had your netbook open, integrate texting and MMS with a netbook and web cam, that would be seriously cool. But then you'd always be tethered to your netbook, even when it wasn't convenient to carry.
The phones advantage is portability, the netbook screen size and keyboard. I don't think either of those advantages are going to intrude totally on the other market. Now a netbook/Bluetooth combo with a small phone all working together as a package. Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner. - quarando, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2I don't care if Windows runs on some. I just don't want it to run on all netbooks. Right now there are some very good linux options, but Microsoft is looking to end that over the next year.
- TheEngineer2008, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2My 17" laptop is light enough.
My 17" laptop + its own bag + power supply is not as light. And, it must all be together when traveling, always on my shoulder. And, going through airport security is a pain. My cellphone, OTOH, has no such issues.
I think there will be a real market for a basic, portable computer with all-day power, a screen big enough to view the entire width of a web page, and a full keyboard. - LilRabbitFooFoo, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2As long as mobile providers end bandwidth caps. Otherwise, you're going to really, Really, REALLY hate the net on 3G. 8(
- freeridstylee, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2Dugg for 512kb ram
- harrison5394, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2I like the way you think, guy. I'm digin your style.
- rpgmakr, on 04/04/2009, -0/+2True :|
Which proves that, even without knowing it, humanity just go around in circles... - obliviousfool, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1I recently put Easy Peasy (ubuntu 8.10 for netbooks) on a netbook which came with XP. The interface is exactly 1 million times better! As much as they probably claim otherwise, I think MS got blindsided by netbooks. It may have been bad timing for them because of the Vista problem, but the open source community has filled in Microsoft's failings with style and grace. Even when 7 comes out, and even if they can slim it down and optimize it for netbooks, I don't see any reason to use a Microsoft product on a netbook!
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1Since nothing but Windows will actually run the APPLICATIONS you'd want to use, don't expect netbooks to seriously encroach on genuine laptop sales. For those who want the web on the go and a large screen than an iPhone, netbooks are an excellent alternative. But for everything serious, productivity-wise, netbooks with Windows are the only ones who have a shot at real crossover.
- sanskrtam, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1Your dad rocks.
- momomathew, on 04/05/2009, -0/+1@TheEngineer - I can do that with my blackberry
- nyxerebos, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1I'll take 10!
- Arlo003, on 04/05/2009, -0/+1I don't even think we have true capitalism now (free market capitalism). "Capitalism" as we know it may not go away, but it's being compromised all the time away from free market capitalism and towards a mixed economy. When private business mixes with government it's fascism. It's a pet peeve of mine when people call fascism capitalism. It's all the rage right now.
- obliviousfool, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1They also have a 9-cell one!
- HOWLAN, on 04/05/2009, -0/+1It's just that I don't like using things I feel like I could break with my little finger.
- theviceroy, on 04/04/2009, -1/+2I like my giant immovable quadcore tower. ***** y'all and your tiny baby *****.
- mdesbiens2532, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1Actually, the ***** that works at Starbucks is staring across the bar at me :) I said "See, New toy, I win." Macbook fail.
- obliviousfool, on 04/04/2009, -0/+1If you are writing a novel or banging out lines of code you already have something with a larger screen and a larger keyboard.
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