Doesn't seem as catchy now, does it?
Just after Intel managed to free the term netbook from Psion for general use, Microsoft appears to be set on calling it something else – the low cost small notebook PC.
Steven Guggenheimer, a general manager at Microsoft, said in Taipei yesterday that the netbooks today are capable of doing much more than browsing the ‘net, so therefore the term should be abandoned.
Besides just throwing a monkey wrench into the segment, Microsoft’s desire to call netbooks “low cost notebook PCs” could stem from the company’s restrictions that it imposed on which machines could run certain versions of Windows.
Guggenheimer is to provide details on the apparent name shift later on, which we’ll bring to you as soon as we know more.
Maybe you should call it "Low priced, entry level, internet browsing, compact portable computers"
no need to come up with some elaborate name....netbooks sound good enough....
no need to come up with some elaborate name....netbooks sound good enough....
Maybe you should call it "Low priced, entry level, internet browsing, compact portable computers"
Microsoft throw the "PC" in there to seperate themselves from apple?
Call them "IcheapPC"
Because people are used to that from the "APPLE" experience. Also, most complaints about Windows stem from people who run under powered systems or system that were not designed the latest and greatest!
Besides, Microsoft is trying to segment netbooks that use low-powered CPUs (like the Atom). You can buy a $500 notebook that has ATI graphics and a dual-core Athlon CPU. Just because its $500 should it be dropped in with all the crappy Atom+IntelGPU netbooks? No.
If Microsoft wants to propose a new name, they should try one that doesn't suck.
When a nickname for something sticks with people, you don't try to change it, no matter how much you think it doesn't make any sense. For example, a cable modem is NOT a modem, because "modem" is short for "modulator-demodulator" which basically means it's converting digital signals to analog and vice versa. A cable modem deals strictly with all digital signals, so there is no (de)modulating taking place, and therefore it's not a modem. Still, the term "modem" became the word commonly associated with a device that connects people to the internet, so even though it's no longer accurate, it's not worth trying to change. Once people have made a word/object association, they don't care whether it's inaccurate or not. Trying to change the word/object association will actually confuse people far more than leaving the inaccurate term in place.
Furthermore, with the wired (or wireless, if you prefer) world we live in today, most kinds of work involve some sort of network or internet access. I find very few things I need or want to do on a laptop that can work locally without any internet. So, I argue that "netbook" is NOT an inaccurate term at all, and the all-encompassing phrase Microsoft wants to replace it with, though maybe slightly more accurate, is far too cumbersome to remember.
Microsoft, I have three words for you: KNOCK IT OFF!!! If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it.