Before I had children I considered myself a very wise and skillful parent. I would sometimes see a parent being disrespected by an unruly child and say to myself, "I'll NEVER let my child behave that way." I was quick to judge parents and thought I had most all of it figured out. It wasn't long after I actually became a parent that I ate those words. Although I'm very grateful for my daughters and their behavior, I am certainly no longer the wise, near-perfect parent I thought I'd be. It's amazing how your perspective can change as your experience deepens.

Such is the case with netbooks. A "netbook" is a relatively new genre of computer. Some see it as the future of portable computing while others dismiss it as the degeneration of a market. Although netbooks resemble notebooks they aren't the same. The difference taps into a larger trend that will completely change how we interact with computers and the Internet. Of course, not everyone agrees, and two notable players have voiced their disagreement with the trend. Sony describes a the netbook trend as a "race to the bottom" and Apple has officially declined to embrace it--there are no plans for an Apple netbook. Both giants are making a mistake in this author's opinion

A netbook is essentially a stripped-down notebook designed primarily for access to the Internet and wireless communication. When bundled with cell phone contracts they often sell for less than the retail price of the unit, which is generally $350-450. They ship with Windows XP or Linux, and Microsoft has announced Windows 7 operating system support also. They lack the processing power, memory, and other rich features of a full-sized notebook. They are not suitable for gaming, PhotoShop, video editing or other resource-intensive tasks. They do not have an optical drive (no CD or DVD drive), the display is small (10" instead of 15-17"), they typically have 1 to 2 GB of memory where a full-sized laptop has 2 - 16GB, and many have a short battery life (2.5 to 3.5 hours). 

Three external forces are helping drive the popularity and success of netbooks: one, the economy. Quite simply, netbooks are an affordable solution amidst a US recession and global economic downturn. A consumer wanting a computer may forgo the bells and whistles and happily purchase a netbook for half the cost of a regular notebook or laptop. Second, strong advances in 3G networks and rapid evolution to 4G networks. In short, a netbook focused on the Internet needs a fast, affordable connection from everywhere and that's becoming a reality. Third, Internet-applications and the evolution of "cloud computing." I'll discuss cloud computing in a later column, but the relevance to a netbook is that you have applications already available for your netbook on the Internet and most are free. The traditional process is to buy Microsoft Office with your laptop. Although you can do the same with a netbook, since the netbook is ultraportable and can access the Internet from anywhere--you don't need to buy a word processor or keep your documents trapped in one location. Instead, you can use a "cloud" application like Google Docs to create and save your document on the Internet. You could do it before, but the ultraportability of the netbook makes this option even more attractive and points to the wholesale change of how we will use computers in the near future.

Despite Apple and Sony's perspective, the idea of an affordable computer focused on network computing and running applications in the cloud is here to stay. Like my parenting lessons, I predict that after a little more experience in the reality of consumer demand, both Apple and Sony will change their perspective and enter the netbook market.

 

Bott Technology Solutions helps small to midsize businesses with computer technology needs and may be reached via e-mail at gregbott@bottinc.com or at 601-616-8509. Greg’s professional experience includes consulting for Price Waterhouse’s Strategic Consulting Group, working as a Program Manager for Microsoft Corporation, and serving as Chief Technology Officer for several companies. He has a Master of Science in Software Engineering degree from the University of Texas and has presented at technical conferences across the world. He has published over a dozen works including the Microsoft Press Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure textbook, Customizing SharePoint, and the Microsoft ASP.Net Security Operations Guide.