Thinking About the Future of Data Access, NetBook Edition

've had some occasion now to reflect on the netbook and how practical it is to use it for mobile data access, and now I've been using a full-fledged MacBook Pro (albeit the 13 inch model). I've come to some conclusions about using them. What follows is some mental rambling, not a submission for consideration of a Pulitzer, but see if you follow my ramblings to get some semblance of what the overall picture is.

Basically, computing is moving in a direction where the term "netbook" is pointless.

What you have are more or less capable computers. Parts continue to commoditize in a way that renders computers into data access portals.

What used to be a netbook was basically a computer that scaled back speed and memory and storage to a point where it was cheap in a package that was small enough to easily carry. That was definitely the state of affairs with the Asus EEE PC I tested in my "going mobile" change in digital lifestyle.

My daughter is about to head to college, so I've kept half an eye on what computers are going for in terms of what she would probably need to take to school. The answer? Computers now considered "netbooks" are practically desktop replacements for the majority of users out there.

They aren't specialized systems that will rip through animations or video games with the highest frame rates and benchmarks. But she doesn't need that, and neither does the majority of users out there. She needs email, office applications, and maybe skype or instant messaging and web browsing. These $400 netbooks today are capable of that and more, and at that price they're practically disposable (another requirement, giving a teenager a piece of equipment that they're going to treat as well as their cellphone...it's most definitely going to have a finite lifespan before Mr. Floor or Mr. Beercan introduces itself to Mr. LCD Display).

The distinction between netbooks and notebooks are a non-issue anymore. You can buy a perfectly usable $500 machine and at that price if it lasts 2 years and something dies, it's better for your time and money to get a new $500 machine at that point than invest the money in fixing it.

And for the average user it means even less because whether they're aware of it or not, access to data is the important thing, not the computer. Most people I see now are getting information via Facebook and Twitter. They want to text friends. They don't care if it's done via email or their cellphone, they simply focus on the goal, not the means. And some are adopting tools to make them even more mobile; saving documents to Google Docs or a USB thumb drive means they can edit and print work in a computer lab or their computer or whatever computer they're sitting in front of at the time. It means that when their computer, whether a $400 "netbook" or a $2000 workstation, dies or is inaccessible or is back in the dorm while they're in another building the documents or work they need can still be accessed from another convenient system.

Parts of this revelation comes at a time when Apple is trying to redefine the non-netbook with their iPad. It's a big success for Apple. But as a computer, it both sucks and is wonderful. It doesn't neatly fit the niche filled by small computers, and Apple won't say it does. But it can redefine how people work. It's almost like the PADD device on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

It neatly fits a niche for conveniently accessing information. It can be shoehorned into being a device that can write novels or, with the proper application (or if you can program the application and get it accepted to the app store) manage servers with remote access applications like secure shell or VNC. It's ideal for what most users are using the Internet for; music, social networking website, watching videos, and in many cases instant messaging and email (although for most users that is interchangeable). It's wildly popular, and by using a combination of management tools with web interfaces and applications from the app store an iPad, while not a general purpose computer, neatly fills a niche for accessing information on the go.

Smart phones can also access much of this information. My wife's phone can get directions, Google information, and reserve movie tickets. An iPad with Internet connectivity will probably have similar abilities, as can a small notebook computer at a wifi hotspot. Three different devices with similar abilities but targeted to different audiences and tailored to suit some tasks better than others by their nature.

In the end it's the goal that is important to users, not the means. Tech people like focusing on the means. We bitch about Microsoft Windows and how it's like drinking cyanide, or why MS Office is a pain and overpriced while OpenOffice is great (and vice-versa). We debate using webmail versus Outlook versus Thunderbird for reading email. But for the average end user, it doesn't matter; they just want to use the computer and write a letter and send an email, and as long as they can do it with minimum hassle, they don't care about the means used to do so. And they'll do it with an iPad, a $400 netbook, a $1,500 Macintosh or their cellphone.

All that matters is that they can get the task accomplished.

When schools and colleges and businesses have IT departments worrying about computer deployment and management, they should probably take a few minutes to step back and reframe their perspective. It's not a matter of getting computers for students or employees. It's a matter of enabling access to the information they need.

Subtle difference, but the implications are quite large once you see them.