Forbes' columnist Lee Gomes dedicated his recent column http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1005/technology-intel-atom-chips-digital-tools.html to taking netbooks to task. I don't know anyone who goes netbook shopping and doesn't know what to expect. Yes, the Atom processor is slow, and won't run Windows Vista, but I don't know anyone trying to use Vista on it. It will run Windows XP fine, and as a bonus it will run Windows 7 beautifully.
A netbook should be easy to carry around, quick to boot up and have sufficient battery life. That is all I expect out of my netbook. It doesn't need to play games, or be able to edit video. Mr. Gomes maybe doesn't know what netbooks are primarily used for. The #$300-500 cost is justified, and with millions and millions of netbook users, manufacturers are doing something right.