Netbooks were cute, back in 2007. When Asus introduced the Linux-running, low-powered, inexpensive and plasticky EeePC, it was more of a hobbyist item, for the curious few looking to make a challenge of working with limited hardware.
Then everybody started to put work – and play – online, and the browser became the most important application on a computer. Computing’s gone retro; our computers have become dumb terminals again, relying on the remote server to do the work and store the data.
Then the financial crisis hit, and it’s no longer trendy to blow $1500 on a new computer when $500 would do.