To give you an idea for the computing power (or lack of) that you get with an Intel Atom 230 (this the desktop variant of the Atom N270 found in most netbook and it's almost identical in every way) found in most netbooks on the market, Anandtech recently added the Atom 230 to their processors comparison bench page.
Some of you might not know this but the netbook CPU is intended for very light task and without anymore delays, I'll let you see by yourself:
Intel Atom 230 VS Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140
The Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140 is one of the slowest desktop processor you can find on the market. It's the kind of CPU you'll find in those cheap $300-$400 desktop PC. It uses the same 1.6GHz core frequency as the Atom 230 (and N270). As you can see, even against this very low end CPU, the Atom seems very slow and outdated.
Now, to give you another kind of comparison, I present you a "real" modern processor, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, probably the consumer Quad Core processor that sold the most on the market as of today:
Intel Atom 230 VS Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
It's not even funny anymore
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There you got it, you now know what to expect from a netbook's processor in term of computer power.
Don't get me wrong here, I didn't write this to tell you not to buy a netbook or to say that the Atom is a bad CPU. From a technological point of view, the Atom is a marvel, so small, powerful for that size and yet consume almost nothing in term of electricity. I wrote this so that people know what they are buying and know that a netbook isn't meant to replace a laptop or desktop computer. A netbook is a light and small computer which primary use should be, as the name implies, to use internet. That or write a paper with word, listen to some music or watch non HD movies.
Awesome, awesome, awesome, Kudos and accolades to you, my friend! 
With the success of netbooks - small and inexpensive laptops - it was only inevitable that we would soon see the advent of "net-desktops" paired with a tiny, cheap processor chip. These processors are by no means powerhouses, they're not even remotely powerful, but they are wimpy. Thankfully, "wimpy" is all you need to perform 95% of most people's daily common computing tasks.
AMD stepped it up with its more powerful Neo Ultra-thin chip, lets see how Intel reacts.....
I'm also passing on my Kudos and accolades. I think this is something that everyone interested in a netbook should see. Again, this isn't to say that netbooks don't work, but don't expect them to do more than they can. For accessing the internet and word processing, they are just fine (and work quite nicely for this), but don't plan on them doing much more than that. So, for those of you getting big laptops, etc. for your primary PC and just need something that's more portable for when you're out an about, a netbook will be fine, but leave the heavy duty photo editting and such to your nice computer at home!
Great post Morfanos!
P.S. As a side note, while my netbook does work great for the intended purposes, I actually have noticed that it really doesn't like multi-tasking. Pick on task and then move on to the next. Avoid multitasking if you don't want a huge slow down.
Hey there Cassey! Nice link... here's a question though, can something like Microsoft Office be used on Moblin? I haven't looked too in depth into Linux compatibilities, but might be interested if I can still use Office with it. Yes, I know I could use Open Office, but when you're in the midst of writing a thesis, the last thing you want to do is learn how to use a new Office package .
Thanks!
