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I think you hit the nail on the head - they are notebooks. But...they are notebooks done right. I think for years notebooks have really been nothing more than transportable desktops. Brand new they came with 1 1/2 hour batteries and weighed 8 pounds. Sleek notebooks (see Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu) were light-weight but cost $2000.
Really, netbooks just brought back to mind what notebooks were for - real portability. Notebooks should be light-weight and they should have batteries that last at least 4-6 hours. I go to Linux (aka GEEK) meetings where everbody is looking for outlets to plug there laptop in.
That is why this time I bought a netbook. However, I also looked at 12-14" light-weight notebooks that cost around $500 and had a decent battery life. Unfortunately, there were not many to choose from - instead I had to look at used 3-4 year-old ones, such as IBM and Compaq of that era.
I think people want laptops that are portable and don't break the bank book. With the rise of so many low-power processors, not all of which are x86, we should expect this market (just above netbook) to flourish. Really, at my age (51) and with my fading eyeballs, I would have been better served with a light-weight notebook with a 14-inch screen (and NOT a 1400x1050 screen!). Instead, I have to use reading glasses with my netbook.
All geeks are not 20.
I share the same problem as you.
I've been in the market for a netbook with long batery, small and eficient, I end buying a Apple PowerBook G4 12' 1.5Ghz with 1GB of RAM and 4h30 hours of battery.
The old ones like IBM, Compaq and Apple are a lot better that most of the netbooks they sell today 
And that is why they can have my 12" iBook G4 with an upgraded 6hr battery when they pry it from my cold dead hands.
Sure, it's slow, but dog gone if it doesn't run near forever.
I've replaced the hard drive. I've replaced the magnesium sub-frame (that was a massively fun surgery!) because the old one had cracked. I've maxed out the RAM. When Apple decides to no longer support it, it'll have a new lease on life with Linux, and I'm -hoping- an Andriod port.
All geeks are not 20.
Check your DPI/font size/font AA settings. A higher res (at the same size) screen should be easier on your eyes properly configured.




