Netbooks One of the Top Open Source Stories of 2008

As the year comes to an end, big magazines are coming out with their top ten lists all around. We knew netbooks would be making some news, and here it is: InformationWeek placed the rise of netbooks as its number one open source story of 2008.They discussed how netbooks prove that you don’t need a full desktop or even notebook to get work done. Netbooks offer internet connectivity, word processing, and a few more tasks for a dirt cheap price, generally around $350. They originally came with Linux, but the introduction of XP to the netbook world made them more mainstream. According to InformationWeek, “Netbooks also proved to be a better bet than Linux-powered desktop PCs at the same price point: why pay the same for a machine that doesn’t even come with a display?”The future shows a “race to the bottom” for the price of a netbook. While InformationWeek cited the unconfirmed $99 Coby netbook as proof, more solid proof exists, such as the $99 RadioShack netbook offer.Via InformationWeek.