Netbooks Are Dead!

Welcome to The Real Tim Jones. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or for more frequent, informal updates, you can follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!

That’s the story in a recent post by TechCrunch writer, John Biggs.  John sucked me in by titling the post, “CrunchGear’s Ultimate Guide To Netbooks” (nice link-bait, John) and follows it up with a post that states that netbooks are not only dead, but worthless.  John postulates that ultra-lights are the wave of the future and proceeds to review several.

Having just purchased a new 13.3″ MacBook Pro, I can completely understand his affinity for the ultra-light laptops.  They provide all the power and versatility of a full-size laptop in a much more portable format.

I’m not even sure I’ll be using my Asus eeePC, anymore.  I would say (and John mentioned this in his post, also) that my Asus would have been much more useful had I paid the extra $50 to get Windows XP on it, instead of Linux.  I’m currently seeing Linux break down, as it’s time for upgrades to various software components that just don’t seem to be working.  For example, I can no longer watch YouTube videos due to some issue with the Shockwave Flash software and Asus can’t get it right when I call for support.

Also, getting the Asus with an optical drive seems like a waste.  My Mom bought one (Full disclosure: based on my recommendation — I didn’t look closely at the description — I meant for her to get the one with a solid state drive.  That’s what you get when you rush) and it’s just too slow to load — part of what I like about the Asus was the solid state drive for speed and durability in travel.

John did not include a single Mac in his review — maybe that was on purpose, but I love my new MBP 13″ — it’s powerful, slim, light-weight.

I carry it everywhere with me, the battery lasts FOREVER (seriously, I can hardly believe how long it lasts) — they advertise 7 hours, but I’ve found it to be more like 5-6.  Still a very long time for you to be able to use a laptop without charging it.

I think John may be right that the newer ultra-light computers may be taking over where netbooks either left off or failed to further develop.  He really should have at least included the new MBP 13″, not because it’s what I bought, but it’s Apple’s latest release in the laptop line-up and John mentioned that the MacBook Air was a fail, in his opinion.

I really did love my Asus, until it started to fail due to software issues a couple months ago.  Fortunately, I think I’ve found the perfect replacement for my piece of junk Acer and the Asus with the new MacBookPro.

Tweet This Post