So, with Amazon/W00t pushing the price down to $80 (US), I decided to get the Dash.

As you probably know, the Dash utilizes Sony's interpretation of the Chumby OS (which is itself Linux-based, sort-of FOSS). I looked around, and Chumby themselves actually has a hardware offering (the Chumby8) that is a little nicer spec'd than the Dash. But, what Sony can give you that you can't get with pure Chumby is Netflix streaming.

I suppose this again implies that sometimes if you want to produce a product with consumer appeal, you do need corporate resources and cooperation (the likes of which Sony can leverage, while Chumby perhaps can't). The corollary being that if you want access to shiny goodies like Netflix, outlook integration, flash, et al., you can't subsist on a FOSS ecosystem alone.