> If you go through the netbook models currently available on the market they are very similar to the initial 10 inch netbooks.
Blame Microsoft. They dictated a set of maximum hardware specifications that netbooks had to conform to if they wanted a reasonably-priced license for Windows. Netbooks can't advance any more quickly than Microsoft wants them to, and MS has little interest in promoting cheap laptops.
I know it's popular these days to claim that Microsoft never deserved their reputation as a bully-boy, but this is an example where the Windows monopoly has a real, damaging effect on innovation.
Netbook manufacturers gave up Linux too easily. I originally got my with Linux and only replaced it with Windows because I needed to write about a Windows-only software.
Just as is currently the case with the iPad, I think most early adopters of netbooks didn't really care that they were on a different OS. They just cared that they could browse, email, use social networks, etc.
There's nothing bullying about offering a discount for low end machines, which is what Microsoft is doing. Machines that don't qualify for the discount aren't really netbooks.
Blame Microsoft. They dictated a set of maximum hardware specifications that netbooks had to conform to if they wanted a reasonably-priced license for Windows. Netbooks can't advance any more quickly than Microsoft wants them to, and MS has little interest in promoting cheap laptops.
I know it's popular these days to claim that Microsoft never deserved their reputation as a bully-boy, but this is an example where the Windows monopoly has a real, damaging effect on innovation.