netbook Most Recent Posts

I've been following all the speculation about the upcoming CES trade show -- naturally enough, since I and several of my Computerworld colleagues will be there next week -- and the word everyone is tossing around as this year's product to watch is the ultrabook.

Apple is planning to introduce a MacBook Air model that implements all the power of a MacBook Pro, a report claims. This should surprise no one, it makes sense -- and the most recent 'Airs are already faster than some relatively recent Apple desktops

It seems that Google (GOOG) is planning to offer Chrome OS notebooks on a subscription basis. Rumor has it that $10-$20 per month will get you something like the Cr-48 beta laptop, including free upgrades and repairs. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers have their heads in the cloud. Not to mention Harlem 1977 - 2004...

Updated: The Cr-48 Chromebook is here, as rumored. But Google's netbook complete with cloudy Chrome OS is a 'pilot program'. So what's the real release date?
All signs point to Google launching a netbook running Chrome OS, with an initial release date of, well, today. The Atom based Chromebook and the cloud based OS are Google's attempt to bring thin-client computing into the 21st century. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if it'll catch on this time. Not to mention The TRONitizing Wizard...
(GOOG)

I've said it before now I'm saying it again, the iPad is indeed cannibalizing netbook sales. For proof, you don't have to ask Best Buy's boss, nor do you have to listen to the analysts, you just need to speak with Microsoft. Apple's iPad is exploding into the enterprise, defining new categories and generating huge disruption across many industries, meanwhile competitors are simply unable to keep up as Apple does the business.

Apple fanbois may not like to hear this, but the new 2010 MacBook Air hasn't been an unqualified hit. It wasn't greeted with the slavish devotion usually heaped on the new shiny from Infinite Loop. Apple launched its updated skinny laptop yesterday, but there are a surprising number of bad reviews out there. Many can't resist comparing the 11.6 inch model to a netbook -- you know, the underpowered, toy computers that Apple said it would would never make. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers clearly aren't all fanbois. Not to mention more tilt-shift goodness: Coachella 2010...
(AAPL)

Apple's iPad landed in China this morning. And in the usual way, Apple Store staff cheered and high-fived shoppers as they entered the stores, queues formed overnight and sales seemed brisk. Meanwhile the results are in -- iPad isn't just killing the netbook market, it's grabbing half of the PC laptop market, too, at least according to Best Buy. And Apple is already assembling components for the iPad 2, set to debut early next year.

Chrome-based notebooks are still months away from release, but it's not at all clear that when they finally arrive, people will want them. Given that Android tablets and Windows-based netbooks will be likely available at the same price as Chrome netbooks, will anyone want to buy a device that isn't designed to run local apps?

AMD has new processors almost ready for release, including Ontario, part of it's anticipated Fusion line. These new system-on-a-chip designs combine CPU and GPU onto one die, using the new Bobcat architecture. Should be great for netbooks and set-top boxes. AMD also unveiled the Bulldozer architecture, for desktops, workstations and servers. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers dig into the silicon details. Not to mention Dimensions...
(AMD) (INTC)

The next version of Ubuntu, due out in October, is going to feature true multi-touch capabilities.

Sorry to disappoint the people who were so upset that Dell was 'abandoning' Ubuntu Linux, but the PC vendor is actually expanding its desktop Linux offerings.

HP is buying Linux distributions, but what are they going to do with them?

Google's upcoming cloud operating system, Chrome OS, in slated for a Q4 release date. The news was announced at Computex 2010 by a Google veep. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers see through a glass, darkly. Not to mention The Geek Alphabet...
(GOOG)

Reports of netbook extinction may be exaggerated, but things don't look great for netbook makers in the iPad tidal wave as consumers abandon those fiddly little things in favor of sexy, shiny, glamorous new Apple iPads.

The netbook revolution was started when Asus added Linux to small laptops, but without a word, Asus seems to have left Linux behind.