Initially it was mainly Intel, setting the hardware specification for what could be called a netbook but then MS got in on it and used its leverage to prevent the spread of Linux, though as “companyemails” pointed out there were other problems with Linux and how it was being used and supported.

However, netbooks are not dead!  They just mainly reached market saturation in which most people who would want or need one already have one and there is very little reason to get a new one until the old one breaks.

While both Intel and MS are changing their policies because both want to get into the mobile market.  So now the main limitation being still imposed on netbooks is from MS, because Windows 7 Starter Edition still requires all systems it is installed on to only have 1GB of RAM. 

While Intel is rapidly pushing the ATOM to start competing in the mobile market and for that to happen they had to remove the old limitations.It’s just going to take another year before we see the change because like driving a large ship, changing course takes time. 

Originally Intel had the ATOM on a long 5 year product cycle, compared to the 2 year cycle they keep their top end products under.  Starting with 22nm Silvermont update next year will herald the ATOM being put under that 2 year cycle and being given the latest Intel tech like Tri-Gate Transistores and the first major architectural change since the ATOM was first introduced.

While again in 2014, just a year from Silvermont, Intel will update again with 14nm Airmont as that’s part of Intel’s tic toc 2 year product cycle, with major updates usually every other year.MS of course is working on Windows 8 and they plan for it to ultimately work on everything from Smart Phone like devices to traditional desktops and servers. 

So like Intel they will be hard pressed to impose hardware limitations anymore.Additionally, let’s not forget AMD only really got into the netbook market in 2011 and are also helping to redefine the netbook market but similarly it looks like we’ll just have to wait till 2013 before the netbook market becomes really interesting again.

Rabid fanboy will defend APPLE…

Even APPLE will kill their family in front of them, imorons will say – its OK, its APPLE, they dont do bad things…

Every single day, APPLE turns like a fuckin whore in the side of the street…

Personally I rebuilt a little netbook to run Linux Mint/ Maxed out the RAM and did a little bit of device surgery in order to add a big hard drive, blue tooth and an 10.1″ HD display. the resulting machine ended up being a full featured, truly portable computer with a long battery life – all for under $400. Compare that to the Ultrabooks that are all the rage now, with less memory and for 3-5 times the price. There is no technical reason netbooks couldn’t be made to take advantage of high end CPU’s and GPU’s as well as lots of RAM, all in a tight little package for an affordable price. The problem is that selling such a device will kill the much more profitable market for higher end machines.

The only available option to those manfacturers that ignored MS was Linux, and almost to a T, most of them buggered the linux implementation in their devices.

Apple was just the first to make popular versions of the Ultra Thin & Light laptops and Tablets.  There design paradigm is more the lack of design than designing. 

Really, take a basic design and make it as thin and easy to hold as possible and you wind up with most Apple designs.  Apple said as much in court when they were asked how Samsung could design tablets to not conflict with the iPad and they basically suggested a thick brick design, which is counter intuitive to the form and function that would best fit actual usage.

It’s like having the most popular car manufacturer that no other car company can make aerodynamic designs.

Really, everyone seems to ignore what makes these devices different and only focus on the similarities.  Asus Zenbooks have USB 3.0, SD card readers, is actually thinner than the MBA, has configurations up to $200 cheaper than equivalent MBA, and come default with Windows instead of OSX.

Similarly the Samsung tablets have a 16:9 ratio and a range of sizes not covered by the 4:3 ratio 9.7″ iPad.  Lots of differences but yet only the similarities are focused on to the exclusion of the differences.

I guess Apple right now is worse than what IBM was in the 80s

While let’s not give Apple too much credit, because they didn’t invent Ultra Thin & Light laptops and Samsung Tablets were hardly confusable with the iPad, and no Apple didn’t invent tablets either!

 Copy = an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work.  Asus could be not more blatant. If you are old enough, you’ll remember Asians market have been copying “innovations” for generations now.

 Copy = an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work.  Asus could be not more blatant. If you are old enough, you’ll remember Asians market have been copying “innovations” for generations now.

done = don’t

I just hope we don’t see an extended period of dominance from one single
company, as that’ll just spell disaster for innovation.