To Netbook, Or Not To Netbook

I have a Dell Insprion 1501 that’s about 3 years old. It works fine, but lately I’ve been looking at netbooks. I’m starting to think the simplicity and practicality of the netbook would be a nice fit for my evolving computer requirements.

In actuality, over the past few years, I’ve converted the majority of my computing activity (probably better than 95%) to cloud computing. If you read any of my previous blogs from my Web 2.0 blog you will know that I am a big Google products fan - actively using Gmail, Reader, Docs, and Calendar to organize my personal and professional life. Additionally, I have been using Facebook and, most recently, Twitter (find me at http://twitter.com/A_E_B) to connect socially, keep track of my thoughts, learn from others, and share my knowledge.

What does all this mean? My realization is that I don’t need a thousand dollar, high-powered laptop with a bunch of features I don’t use to do what I need to do on a computer. I’m not a gamer and don’t do any multimedia production, all I really need is an Internet connection and a browser.

After some simple research, below is a list of the standard netbook requirements I’m mulling over, and a few of the netbooks I’m considering.

Standard requirements:
-Windows XP (I have not made the jump to Linux, yet)
-Traditional hard drive (some recommend the solid-state drive, but I’m not sold)
-Intel’s Atom processor
-Preferably a 6-cell battery
-Built-in web cam

Netbooks I’m considering:
-ASUS EeePC 901 1000HE
-Acer Aspire One (10inch)
-MSI Wind