The excitement that pundits seem to feel at the prospect of an Android Netbook is baffling.
It's an OS specifically designed for mobile hardware with less processing power than a full sized machine. It's as if the fact that it sort of but not quite fits on both points means it's a good idea. The power the Atom etc can provide is probably more than Android needs - it can run better featured platforms - and the type of mobile features that should be going into Android are the type that expect a small phone that can be constantly used, not a machine that sits in a man purse or purse being ignored much of the time.
Netbooks often run XP. Many can run fuller flavours of Linux than Android. I can't help thinking that Android powered Netbooks will lack purpose. If, as is widely touted, the tiny sub-laptops are purely for web use, i'm quite certain Ubuntu (actually, Kbuntu) would fit better. In fact I pretty much confirm it. My legacy desktop holds an Athlon roughly equivalent to an Atom in power, and it does a great job running Kubuntu and Firefox. It also does fine with XP and Firefox.
Although I've now given up on Android and plan to get an iPhone some time in the summer, the missteps are still irritating. The supposed main rival to Apple in this arena has managed one crappy handset after well over a year. The second handset which is clearly going to flop isn't even available yet, and the next job is to put the OS on small laptops. Lack of focus, lack of purpose, lack lack lack. Okay i'll take the QUICK marker off this it wasn't quick enough.
Bottom line, which I should put at the top, but I won't, is that nobody's steering this thing, and consequently it has no idea where it's going. Automobile analogies are popular in tech. It's our way of making out this is man stuff and not geek stuff. This is clearly geek stuff. Pointless post. Waaaah.
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