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The Eee PC 1000H is available for pre-order. The specs: Atom CPU running at 1.6 Ghz, with a 10 inch screen, 1 GB of RAM, 80 GB HDD, XP OS and WiFi b/g/n. It weighs 3.2 lbs and has a 7.5 hour battery life (your mileage may vary). It costs $649.99 with free shipping. Shameless self-serving portion of comment: go to my site for the link http://backpackcomputing.com/

It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future but in terms of display technology, I think rollable displays will be common by 2015. The rollable screens have an obvious form factor appeal. The devices will probably be cylinder shaped (think paper towel tube, but a bit smaller) with a virtual keyboard. There are already early versions of both rollable displays and virtual keyboards in existence, see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/technology/06novelties.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin and http://www.virtualdevices.net/Products.htm, respectively. By 2015 rollable displays will have full color, etc. and virtual keyboards will hopefully have haptic attributes. This is just my best guess before my morning coffee! http://backpackcomputing.com/

If you can wait a couple of months there are several new products coming to market that may be worth the wait. First, the Eee PC 1000H- it has a 10.2 inch screen, powered by an Intel Atom CPU. The "H" stands for hard drive. The 1000H has an 80 GB HDD and WiFi N. Asus is also coming out with the Eee PC 904 and 05 models which combine the larger keyboard of the 1000H model with the 8.9 inch screen size of the 900 series models. I'm not sure, but these models will likely by driven by an Atom CPU. In September Intel is scheduled to release a dual core version of its Atom CPU. This may be an attractive solution for those who want to make a netbook their primary computer, but were turned off by the lack of processing power. However, the TDP for the dual core is 8 watts, so there is no advantage in power consumption efficiency relative to the single core version. Finally, by the late fall we should begin to see wimax being integrated into netbooks. For more news on the latest trends in the sub-notebook market check out http://backpackcomputing.com/

You might want to consider the newest Eee PC, the 1000. It, like the MSI Wind, sports a 10 inch screen. But it also comes with either a 80 GB HDD or a 40 SSD. The 1000 was just released Taiwan a few days ago and hopefully should be stateside within a month or so. For more details checkout http://backpackcomputing.com/

I wouldn't recommend buying something that old even if the only thing you're going to use it for is surfing. If you're willing to go for something new and you want alternatives to the HP 2133 and Eee PC, then you might consider the Dell Vostro 1310. It's a 13.3" notebook starting at $749 SRP, but you might be able to get it cheaper using the coupons that appear from time to time on dealnews or techbargains. Alternatively, there is a new subnotebook about to come to the market that is competitive with the Eee PC on price, but has better specs: it's the MSI Wind. For more details and the latest news and deals on the subnotebook market check out http://backpackcomputing.com/

Intel is limiting Atom (it's new 45 NM low power CPU) to motherboards with 1 DIMM at a 2GB limit. This is problematic because several vendors are loading Vista on these devices and they would be well served by 3GB or even 4GB of RAM. See http://backpackcomputing.com/ for a link to the full story.

Although not an exact comparison, Psystar definitely offers a bigger hardware bang for the buck, particularly with respect to the HDD and the CPU. I didn't see the $599 configuration described above at macmall.com. Here are the $$ stats below comparing the three different vendors: Here is what $555 plus shipping gets you at Psystar: Case Color: Black Intel Processor: Core2Duo/2.2GHz E4500 Hard Drive: 250GB 7200RPM SATA Graphics Processor: Intel GMA 950 Firewire: Not Included Operating System: OS X 10.5 Leopard (+ $155.00) Memory: 2GB DDR2 (you could get 3 firewire ports for an extra $50) Here is what $949 buys at Apple.com: * 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo * 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB * 160GB Serial ATA drive * SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) * User's Guide (English) * Accessory kit Here is what $769 (after $25 rebate) buys at macmall.com: Apple Mac mini Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz,4MB L2 cache, 667MHz FSB, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 120GB SATA HD, DVD-RW/CD-RW Super Drive, Intel GMA 950, AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0, Apple Remote, OS X 10.5 Leopard MacMall Part #: 7288185 Platform: Macintosh Your Price: $794.00 Mail-In Rebate(s): $25.00 Net Price: $769.00 http://backpackcomputing.com/

The price of the Psystar seems cheap compared to Apple branded products, although there appear to be several rough edges. A base system with the Leopard 10.5 OS, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD and Core2Duo processor costs $555 plus shipping. It does not come with a monitor or keyboard. By comparison, for example, a Mac mini with 2GB of RAM, but a smaller HDD and slower CPU costs $949. Although, the aesthetics of the mini can't be denied. http://backpackcomputing.com/

Although laptops can be expensive, I think the real danger is the potential disclosure of personal and business data on the lost computer. There are several programs that will erase the drive remotely if the laptop is reported stolen by the owner. Here is a link to one as an example, but I haven't used it, so I can't vouch for it: http://www.sharewareplaza.com/Zapeze-download_39642.html http://backpackcomputing.com/

The Asus Eee PC is obviously much improved, particularly in the areas of screen size and storage capacity. However, this is a very competitive space. The HP 2133 was recently introduced. It also has a 8.9 inch screen, but has the advantage of a 120 GB HDD option (although it uses a VIA CPU). Intel is begining to rollout it's Atom class CPUs for the UMPC market. Based on a 45 NM process, the Atom based devices should offer much improved battery life and better performance. Also, Dell announced that it is throwing it's hat in the ring, and will probably introduce a device in June, maybe with an Atom CPU. Bottom line: if you can sit tight for two more months you'll probably have many more options. http://backpackcomputing.com/ [backpackcomputing.com]

Here's a crazy idea: DoD should consider contracting out the work to Apple or Google! http://backpackcomputing.com/

I don't think the 1.6 GHz CPU is worth paying extra for. The base model is $499, but for $549 you get 1 GB of RAM, 1.2 GHz Via CPU and Vista Basic. Importantly, you can opt to go with Windows XP and get a license for Vista so you can "upgrade" later. As far as the competition, Asus will be introducing an 8.9 inch screen on the Eee PC shortly and it may also include Intel's 45 NM "Atom" CPU. For more details and a link to purchase check out http://backpackcomputing.com/

I'm not sure I'd run out and get the XP version with only a 4 GB SSD just yet (albeit with an additional 4 GB card). The 8 GB is available now (see http://backpackcomputing.com/ for the link). Also, a version with an 8.9 inch screen, but the same overall form factor should be out in a few months.

There is an enormous financial cost for trying to go from a 3 lb. device to 2 lbs and certainly a loss of functionality in terms of screen size and keyboard utility. The one rule breaker to this is the Eee PC which weighs only two pounds, but costs $400 (or less depending on the configuration). Of course, it's not a terribly powerful device relative to a desktop, but it will probably suffice for most on the go surfing needs. One model that is overlooked here is the OQO model 02. It is generally expensive, but there is a $499 discount on selected models via a link at http://backpackcomputing.com/