Fast Food Apple Pies and Why Netbooks Suck

This article so completely spot on.



If you have a little more time to spare, I’m going to explain my belief that while netbooks have a nifty form factor, they’re not where the mobile computing action is.

A Tale of Two Pies

When I was Crazy Go Nuts University’s second most notorious perma-student (back in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s), I took a handful of business courses at the recommendation of my engineering and computer science professors. “You’re going to have to learn to speak the suits’ language,” they said. Crazy Go Nuts University has a renowned business school and I thought it would be a waste not to take at least a couple of business courses. I especially liked the Marketing couse, and one lecture stands out in my mind: a case study comparing the dessert offerings of two major fast food chains.

In the interest of not attracting the attention of their lawyers, I’m going to refer to the chains as:

Monarch Burger, whose mascot is a mute monarch with a glazed-over face, wearing a crown and associated paraphernalia, and
Jester Burger, whose mascot is a clown in facepaint and a brightly-coloured jumpsuit who loves to sing and dance.
Both Monarch Burger and Jester Burger offered a dessert that went by the name “apple pie”. Let’s examine them.

http://www.joeydevilla.com/2009/05/26/fast-food-apple-pies-and-why-netbooks-suck/

It is like my little sports car. Its serves a specific purpose.

I only drive my little car on weekends.

I only use my netbook to take notes in meetings and when I head off to bed and I have not finished catching up on DU.

I don't have a smart phone - don't want one.

...and It is always with me. Everywhere.

And that's why the smartphone will "win."

netbook is actually useful.

I only get respectable computing power out of my desktop.

Carry on. :-)

Yummy.

I can not stand smartphones. iPhone, Blackberry - whatever. I like my netbook quite a bit - runs linux the way I want without proprietary nonsense, I can play Atari to SNES games on the go, and since I have an SSD I can drop it from 5 feet and not break a thing. Maybe scratch up the bottom a bit... but nothing more.

A smartphone can't be used to program, a netbook can.

A smartphone can't use OpenOffice to my knowledge. If it can I can't imagine typing up a doc on a smartphone.

Additional - netbooks can be used without a wireless plan. do that with your smartphone ;)

I'll take my $199 powerhouse, thanks. :D

I have been saying for years that "thumbing" is not how I learned to communicate/type.

I need a keyboard that allows all of my fingers (and one thumb) to be engaged.

gee, what a surprise analysis.

and even the article's graphic, an iPhone, a frustrated non-Apple user and a MacBook. Real subtle.

a desk top and could not justify a laptop for the amount of time I would use it. Got talked into a smart phone but it really, really sucks for the off premises, limited time uses I had thought it would be sufficient for.

For my purposes - my netbook is perfect.

I want a phone that does cool stuff for when I'm dashing about. For me, it's a Treo. (Please, mommy, can I have a Pre? PLEASE!!!111)

I don't want or need a second less powerful computer that doesn't fit in my pocket and can make phone calls conveniently.

=======

Speaking of Jester Burger's apple pies: As a teen, I worked for a fledgling chain called Red Barn. Their food was awful, but they paid me to sell it. They had the fried pastry thingies called apple and cherry pies. They were wonderful, and I could eat them while riding my bicycle home from work.

Netbooks are perfect for people that need to do real work; and spend most of their day traveling or on their feet. You can't do shit with a smartphone. And, this is coming from someone that loves their IPhone.

He has functional autism. He was failing miserably in school. Couldn't get him to take notes or write anything down. I spoke to the school and they agreed to let him have a laptop in class. I got him a netbook. He went from a "D" average to a "B" average in one semester.
Yeah that thing is a useless piece of crap :eyes:

The article doesn't claim that there is no situation anywhere that a netbook could possibly be useful.

In the last 5 or so years they started tasting like pine sol. I haven't eaten one since.

Not for big, manly men like me with size 21.5 ring fingers. :) And no, I'm not fat, I really AM big boned.