Regarding Netbooks
I GOT an e-mail from a regular visitor of aWonderfulBlog.com about a week ago. †She was distraught. †Apparently she learned about Netbooks from my blog. †Encouraged by my favorable assessment of the Netbook’s potential in a couple of blog posts I wrote some time ago, she bought herself a Netbook early this year, she enthused. †According to her she is quite pleased with her acquisition and it has become her regular companion at Starbucks ever since.
But lately she’s gotten confused. †An acquaintance of hers apparently told her that she shouldn’t be calling her beloved device a Netbook. †”So what is it?” she asks.
I empathize with her. †Truth be told I was quite confused, too. †You will notice in my blog posts about Netbooks that I have been using the terms “Netbook,” “sub-notebook,” and “mini-laptop” interchangeably.
And so I was quite please when I found this superb diagram from the blog of Chris Cheng. †This diagram — which Chris Cheng apparently found somewhere on the Web, too — aims to help people like my distraught blog visitor and myself determine what to call their devices.
And since my curiosity was already substantially tickled by this topic I took a step further and did some sleuthing on the origins of “Netbook.”
Wikipedia has substantial material on the subject, starting with a basic definition of the term. †”A†netbook,”†according to Wikipedia, “is a†laptop computer†designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet.”
What distinguishes Netbooks from regular laptops are the following:
- They are primarily designed for†web browsing†and†e-mailing;
- Netbooks rely heavily on the Internet for remote access to†web-based applications†and are targeted increasingly at†cloud computing†users who require a less powerful†client computer;
- Netbooks typically run either†Windows XP†or†Linux†operating systems†rather than more resource-intensive operating systems like†Windows Vista;
- The devices range in size from below 5 inches†to over 13,†typically weigh less than a kilogramand are often significantly cheaper than general purpose†laptops. †In PH, the price of Netbooks range from P18,000 to P30,000, depending on what’s in the package.
As to term’s origin, the Netbook can be traced to a tech firm called Psion. †The Netbook (originally written as netBook) is actually a discontinued product line (and trademark) of Psion. †Psion’s netBook†line was connected to the†One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)†project.
We owe the popularity of the current “Netbook” to Asus which, in late 2007, unveiled the†ASUS Eee PC, an 8.9 ? 6.5 in (23 x 17†cm) device weighing about 0.85 kilogram, and featuring a 7-inch display, a keyboard approximately 85% the size of a normal keyboard, and a custom version of†Linux†with a simplified†user interface.
The ASUS Eee PC was originally positioned as a laptop for kids. †I was among the very first (in the Philippines at least) who correctly predicted that it is actually a viable corporate computing device which would surely “disrupt” the PC industry as we knew it. †And it did!
By late 2008, Netbooks had begun to take†market share†away from†laptops.††By early 2009 all mainstream PC brands have their own Netbook lines.
Let me now go back and address the concern of my distraught blog visitor.
Relax missy. †Whatever your acquaintance says, take comfort in the fact that you do have a Netbook and you may rightfully call it a Netbook. †You can confidently point her/him to this blog post or tell her/him to check it out on Wikipedia.
†
Thanks Bong. Now I can confidently say that I own a Netbook.