I like my netbook and didn't encounter the issues you are describing. Battery life is 4.5 hours, which is quite ok-ish, and the new EEE netbooks have 8+ hours.

I like my netbook and didn't encounter the issues you are describing. Battery life is 4.5 hours, which is quite ok-ish, and the new EEE netbooks have 8+ hours. The cpu speed is also ok, although i don't play games or process very large files. And, Atom dual core is comming... Regarding the screen real estate, 1024x600 on 10" is enough for me. I did some customizations in apps, for example in Firefox I use Tiny Menu extension, so all my navigation buttons, menu, and URL box is nicely placed in just one toolbar, and statusbar is switched off. Or in Microsoft Word (my second most used program), I usually write in full-screen mode. So you are right, no ribon for netbooks. ;-) I think it comes down to personal preference. I've been a "desktop guy" and never owned "normal" laptop...I just consider it too heavy to carry. I also don't own a smartphone, since I don't find it necessary. The combo powerfull desktop + netbook does it for me.