How about this alternative headline: "Netbooks killing netbooks". I was an independent consultant in my last life, so I get to work with a lot of companies on

How about this alternative headline: "Netbooks killing netbooks". I was an independent consultant in my last life, so I get to work with a lot of companies on their technology strategies, and like most geeks, I'm the go-to guy when someone is ready to buy. In my view, what is killing netbooks is the growing sentiment that they suck. The only people I know who really like their netbook are geeks. They like them because they're able to manage the software on their netbook in the way that is necessary to extract performance from netbook-class hardware. Your normal user who runs Windows 7 with anti-virus and their usual suite of software is miserable. I've worked on plenty of netbooks ranging from the Dell Mini series to Asus Eee, and anything with an Atom processor running a full Windows stack (AV included) is painfully slow, even for basic tasks. I just don't see where netbooks and iPads compete. The people who buy netbooks aren't willing to give up the things that the iPad lacks, and iPad purchasers aren't willing to put up with the lackluster performance of a netbook. There is some inevitable overlap, but any impact will be felt quickly, then taper off. The netbook's future must include an operating system that is dedicated to the netbook hardware. It needs to work well on a small screen, and much like iPhone OS or Android, it must include design considerations for the hardware that it runs on. Companies like Google and Canonical are in a great position to capitalize on the growth prospects in the netbook market. The primary question is whether anyone will rise to the occasion and build a netbook that works as well as an iPad, but includes features that non-iPad buying folks consider important.