Yes, he's asking the wrong question. I agree with that. But people who have never seen a device saying that it's too slow, or too small, or won't do something, are out of line, IMO. The Eee is faster than my HP laptop. It certainly isn't for heavy graphics or gaming, but for the things most people do, including programming, it's better than a budget laptop, because it's faster, especially running Linux instead of Windows, it's smaller and lighter, and it's cheaper in the long run. Flash memory is getting cheaper, and you can plug a USB stick in and have plenty. Optical drives are only good for making permanent backups now, because you can get far more memory on a USB flash drive than is available on a CD or even a DVD for very little money, and it's easily and quickly rewritable. DVDs are going to be obsolete rather soon for most uses. Lack of a DVD drive isn't a major drawback any longer, and neither is lack of a hard drive, which uses battery power quickly. I've been looking for exactly what the Eee provides for some time, and would have been willing to pay more than double the price. It's not for everyone, and that's why they sell so many different types of computer, from handhelds to huge desktops. Everybody's needs and wants are different, and they vote with their pocketbooks, or at least their credit cards. The OP can use what he has to do what he needs, but doesn't want to. An Eee is the cheapest way to get a new computer that has the capabilities he needs. You don't need a huge screen for programming, or learning networking. If you want something you can use anywhere, anytime, and can easily take with you wherever you go, it fits the bill. You can get a new desktop much cheaper, and the one he has will do the job, but it's pretty much stuck in one place. Whether money or portability is more important is an individual decision.