Small laptops are the new thing

An interesting blog entry from here, noting that

"These small education computers for under $500 are creating a problem for makers of full size conventional laptops and high cost sub-notebook computers. Consumers who see that these cheap little computers are more than adequate for most tasks will ask why they should pay two or three times as much (or in the case of some premium sub-notebooks, six times as much)."

Ayep! I mean, very few people are doing three-dimensional graphic rendering. Most folks are doing: 1) word processing; 2) spreadsheets; 3) slide presentations (e.g. PowerPoint); 4) web browsing; and 5) e-mail. Given that the "normal" computers of five years ago worked just fine for these tasks (800MHz, 20GB hard drives, etc.) -- do most of us **really** need a 3.2GHz laptop for $3,000 -- when a $500-$800 one will do?


--GG