everything in the computing world becomes more powerful very quickly

we dont need a new name each time that happens

Welcome to Tom's Hardware lol alrigh! We don't proofread our articles. That would take too much time when we have such groundbreaking news to report. I don't want to cause a giant faught or anything, but come on guys. Seriously?

Maybe they would prefer:

Unibody reduced footprint portable Windows-capable computing device

Lmao maybe Marcus was writing this article while messaging someone and typed that in the article

Is this article just more weekend humor?

"netbooks, and Intel having faught for the freedom of the term itself"


RTFA then say something.

Oh, and Roastmaster, it's Giant, not GAINT. So, take your own advice.

Small notebooks > limited capabilities on netbooks

Microsoft = FAIL

We'll be sticking with the term "netbooks". But they DO need to stay small, portable and low powered. 11" LCD screen models are coming out - if we see another increase in size, call then notebooks. As thats what the $1500~2500 micro-sized high powered notebooks are.

So "netbooks" run Linux, where the obviously more capable and desirable Small Notebook PCs run Windows, right? Makes perfect sense.




Yes. Perfect sense.

I used to have that picture of the EEE in my binder.
It was the cheapest laptop out there when I noticed it and I was determined to get it.
I ended up getting a Toshiba though.

Shut up MS!

I don't need you to explain me anything. Don't try to shove me crippled gadgets down my throat. I look at specs and I decide what I need. Netbook, Notebook, Desktop - means nothing to me. I don't buy a Netbook I buy computing device that has certain performance, is under 2 pounds and is small enough to carry around. I don't buy the six letters "n, e, t, b, o, o, k"!
Don't you, people, have it enough of that branding, naming, trolling etc.

What I find most interesting here, is asking an interested party for the definition.

If you asked General Motors to define "automobile", you'd have gotten: 6-tons, 4WD, fully automatic personal vehicle with leather upholstery and all other creature comfort built-in and a cargo capacity of 3,000 lb.

If you ask a dictionary, "automobile" comes from "auto"-self, and mobile: "that moves by itself" - defining a vehicle (any vehicle) that produces its own energy to move. Traditionally, any 3- or 4-wheeled (or more) vehicle with an engine on an open road is an automobile (by opposition with a motorcycle, which needs a driver to be balanced, and with a train, which must run on a dedicated track).

As such, the 500 lb., two-stroke engine 4-speed manual shift Citroen 2CV (where 'creature comfort' was limited to electric rain sweepers on a later revision)) was also an automobile.

So, why bother asking Microsoft about the definition of a PC? For Microsoft, a PC is currently a quad-core with 4 Gb of RAM, a terabyte of HD space, a 40 Gflop graphics card and a HD-DVD (scratch that) Blu-Ray drive.

A netbook is a low-cost, handy portable computer geared towards using the Web (it has many connection types built-in: 3G, bluetooth, wifi, ethernet); the fact is that 'low cost' doesn't mean 'low performance': if that were the case, the iPhone, with its dedicated processors, would not cost $400 but more like $1200 (if the marketing costs overhead proportion stayed the same).

Seriously people, either contribute to the discussion "on topic" or just keep your damn fingers off the keyboard and don't comment about stupid spelling errors.

Pathetic wastes of carbon.

But its important for mispeeling to be pointed out to the professionels.

i prefer the name small notebooks . even in desktops you have celerons to i7 . the line connecting netbooks and notebooks is continuous .

"For this reason, Microsoft believes that netbooks are actually evolving to become closer to the capabilities of notebooks."

So are they saying that notebooks will not get any better, or are they moving towards desktop speeds? Where, then, are desktops going? Oh, well gee, they're getting faster too. So netbooks will still be 50% slower than the average notebook, and desktops will still be 1.5x faster than your average notebook. I'm not exactly sure where they're going with this except to say that hardware, no matter how energy-efficient, will only get better at running Windows. That's ALL that can be said about this. Netbook could never reach notebook speeds as long as notebook hardware continues to evolve just like desktop hardware.

LMAO at you retards arguing about typos. Funny stuff. Glad you have the time to waste.

would rather refer them still as netbooks not "small".

My take...

Microsoft is doing this to say "see, its okay to limit the maximum capacity of netbooks for windows XP/7 installs - because they are only netbooks and not small notebook PCs... and we don't restrict the capacities of small notebook PCs what-so-ever!"

Why hasn't anyone come out with a convertable tablet netbook? Seems like it would sell like crazy if done right and kept fairly inexpensive, thin and light, as it could be used both as a traditional laptop and as an eReader, portable TV and tablet computer, the latter being ideal for use while commuting, traveling or just sitting around in a cafe.

Intel and Microsoft are fretting over netbooks, because if the trend continues, they are looking at serious revenue and profit reductions. That is why they want to mess with the mindshare and try to get people to pay more buck for less bang.