In fact PCs were bought as minicomputer replacements after their performance caught up, and that is the classic disruption pattern. The difficulty of netbooks penetrating the corporate environment isn't just performance, it's also a combination of the desktop form and the support that corporations want.
Soon, netbook performance will become comparable with laptops, but that alone won't make Microsoft's empire fall. In time it is likely that the same commoditization happens to the corporate market. It just won't be with netbooks, and not as fast as Eric Raymond would like.
"Soon, netbook performance will become comparable with laptops"
I have been using a netbook as my main desktop and the only complain I had was with it being really tiny (something quickly offset by me having to carry it). When I am at home, I use an extra screen/keyboard/mouse.
Sure it's no screamer, but it is a more than adequate development (Emacs/Python/Django/Plone) machine.
In fact PCs were bought as minicomputer replacements after their performance caught up, and that is the classic disruption pattern. The difficulty of netbooks penetrating the corporate environment isn't just performance, it's also a combination of the desktop form and the support that corporations want.
Soon, netbook performance will become comparable with laptops, but that alone won't make Microsoft's empire fall. In time it is likely that the same commoditization happens to the corporate market. It just won't be with netbooks, and not as fast as Eric Raymond would like.