Netbooks

Canonical has not yet built an Ubuntu Linux distribution for tablets and will continue development of the OS for PCs and netbooks, company executives said.

Sure, Microsoft may have lost its way in the smartphone market and fallen far behind in tablets, but at least Redmond has one unassailable stronghold in mobile devices -- netbooks! (Also see: Netbooks, we hardly knew ye)

In preparation of its upcoming webOS announcement, HP put up a training site for mobile carrier sales associates. The site specifically references various webOS devices including smartphones, tablets, and netbooks.

Google has issued invitations for a media event on Tuesday, and all signs point to some sort of official unveiling of Google-branded netbooks built on the Chrome OS. Just in case you haven't been keeping up on the Chrome OS news, here is a little background and some idea of what you can expect from a Google netbook.

The Dell Inspiron Duo tablet (or is it a netbook?) will be officially released November 23, CNET says, citing "industry sources familiar with the launch plans."

Well, it's not like you couldn't see this coming.

Today I spoke with a Microsoft tech in charge of helping large customers migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7. One of the interesting things he said was that Windows 7 was indeed tweaked and slimmed down to run on lower powered computers than Vista. Let's talk about that, and how Microsoft has a utility to help you load Windows 7 on your netbook.

Many people miss the underlying philosophies that make the Google versus Microsoft battle so interesting. Microsoft is all about the desktop. Google, however, still lives by eyeballs on the Web. The more eyes, the more AdWord pennies find their way to the GoogleVault. A computer off the Net does nothing for Google.

Startup NetBooks is making a second run at the nation's millions of small-business users with a new company name and revamped on-demand suite.

For years, pundits have written about the demise of Windows and the rise of Linux on the desktop. For years, Windows has avoided being pounded into oblivion by the open source movement. Although Windows has lost a little market share in recent years, it's far from a has-been and, I predict, will continue to dominate for years to come... I also predict that Linux at the desktop level will not gain the major traction that many would like to see.

Even the most conservative technology research firms now admit more laptops than desktops are sold each year. Add in the popularity of three-pound netbooks (should we call those laptoplets?) and the spread between desktop and laptop will increase to the laptop's favor. Add in the lower power requirements for laptops and you can call yourself green for avoiding desktops. But what about those who need serious computing power? Buy those people workstations, not desktops.