The $250 netbook may not cut it, but I'm writing this on a brand new $400 laptop that has plenty of processing power, 2 gigs of ram and a decent graphics card. This power would have cost over $1500 two years ago. When the computer costs the same as the operating system, people will be more willing to play around with which operating system they use.
You're absolutely right that Microsoft is going to get squeezed from both directions by Linux and Mac.
The most likely near-term consequence is that Microsoft may be pushed out of the home market if they don't introduce a relatively cheap home OS.
You're absolutely right that Microsoft is going to get squeezed from both directions by Linux and Mac.
The most likely near-term consequence is that Microsoft may be pushed out of the home market if they don't introduce a relatively cheap home OS.