Google Chrome OS - It’s official. Coming in the winter of 2010 to brighten our days. That’s over a year away really, but still exciting news for operating system enthusiasts.

Moblin v2.0 Beta - Short for Mobile Linux, this is the OS that has been massaged by Intel to better integrate (and utilise) with their atom processors. Definitely one of the best operating systems I’ve seen for netbooks (apart form OS X). Definitely check out the video to see it in action. Also with a rumored 2 second startup time, this does seem like the way to go for these smaller computers.

Netbooks compatibility chart - If you’re in the market for a Hackintosh.

Dell Mini 9 and 12 now released in cherry red, pretty pink and designs by Tristan Eaton Designs - It’s taken a while but the red one is finally here.

Dell Mini Inspiron 12 Review - The older brother of the Mini 9 is out in Japan. There are some factual inaccuracies in the review. The size of the actual netbook isn’t 24mm to 21mm but rather 23(.3)mm to 27(.6)mm. Also I’m not sure where they got the $999 pricetag, because it seems that this will actually be more in the $600 region? Better pictures on the Dell Japan website.

Dell Mini Inspiron 9 from Vodaphone - You get the computer for free (saving £299) but then pay £25 a month, for minimum of 24 months. That’s £600 in total. The alternative of course is to buy the laptop and get a Three dongle for £10 and save £60 but of course you’ve got the option to opt out since you’re paying it monthly.

These services providers are seriously raping the customer with these prices. £5 for the 1GB allowance would be the sweet spot as this is a frill item at best. This is in addition to your phone, which in most cases you are paying £20-£35 depending on your tariff.

Also I was worried that Vodaphone would have an exclusive on the fire brick red version of the Dell Mini, so maybe that is something we can look forward to.

In case you missed it, Apple released their new line of notebooks earlier this week and as you will imagine it looks like an amazing bit of artwork. As I’m currently in the market for a nice portable computer, of some description I’ve been following the online rumours surrounding this event with a lot of interest, holding my breathe, waiting for the news to come through. Sadly after I play around with one today I can’t bring myself to buy one.

Form Factor There is no denying that the new Macbooks sport some seriously sexy looking shells and have an awesome glass trackpad (which you need to play with to fully appreciate it’s greatness), however this line of Macbooks are missing something for me and the real reason I’d buy a laptop computer at this time. It’s down to what I ultimately will use the notebook for and that comes down to the form factor.

In this context I’m not looking for a first machine, I bought my mac mini last year and I’ve got say that I’m extremely happy with this machine. I’m not a believer of getting equipment that I will never use it’s fully capacity for which i have paid for. So why would i want a notebook? To actually take it around with me. Isn’t that what laptop computers were originally created for? Apart from price entry, I think the reason why netbooks have taken off as a consumer product is down to the actual weight associated with them, they’re typically a little over or under a kilogram and they deliver minimal power for work on the move, with a decent sized screen and a keyboard.

I like well engineered stuff that is beautiful to look at and beautiful to use. Arguably the new Macbooks fit into that ethos. However the thing that these notebooks don’t address is portability. at a little over 2kg for the lightest Macbook (the plastic version is actually heavier than the aluminium version), the weight factor is out the window. They’ve provided the computer at 13.3 inches which is a good size, but again, I would have preferred to have an even smaller thing that I could lug around with me and not really feel it.

The new notebooks feel more like a primary machine that you have in your house, that give you the option to move about the house, but don’t seem to have the makings of a true road warrior. Maybe if you’ve got a car and using that to move you and your notebook around, but in my city slicker mode, I don’t own a car and it’s me who will be lugging this thing around. As such weight is paramount.

Is it Apple’s fault that their latest notebook offerings don’t actually fit in to what I want? To be fair to Apple they have something that more or less fits in with my ethos, get the Macbook Air, at 1.3kg that more or less addresses my weight issue. The only problem with this is that the Air is £1300. That’s £350 more expensive than an already expensive machine (and I doubt the new Macbook Air actually has the glass trackpad which is many shades of awesome).

Sadly like Gruber says, Apple won’t release a netbook for another few years and when they do it’ll be awesome, but it will have a stripped down OS X and will fit my needs now, in 2 years. So what’s a guy to do? What are the available options?

I could either get a Macbook Air, get a Lenovo S10 when it gets here and Hackintosh it or I could get a Dell Inspiron 9 and Hackintosh that. Arguably the second option is much cheaper (by around £1000).

I’m making a collection of links for how you can install OS X on a Lenovo S10 netbook ; you know, in case I decide not to get the uber expensive Macbooks.

I want myself one of these Dell Mini Inspiron 9’s with OS X on them. The thing is, I don’t want to do any of the hacking, I just want to go to a store tomorrow, walk in and buy the bloody thing. I’d even settle if Apple actually released a friggin netbook, but somehow I seriously doubt that is going to happen. Their ultra portable machine is the Air pure and simple. Anything else is wishful and naive thinking.

Dell Inspiron 910 has finally been officially released. I’ve been waiting for a netbook for a while, but the truth is at 300 quid, I’m tempted to just wait until the new Macbooks are released, spend an extra 250 quid and get a mac. The killer though is the weight. 2.2kg as opposed to 1.1kg. Then would I go for the Ubuntu flavour or for the Windows XP flavour. While I want to support Ubuntu, it’s not for me, at least not now.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Reviewed - Comprehensive review of the Dell Inspiron Mini by Anand Lal Shimpi. Actually makes me think that getting the Dell machine would be better than the Lenovo S9 or S10.

Dell may be officially announcing their netbook next Tuesday. This week we also got to see the really sexy looking Lenovo S9 and S10 netbooks (the only other netbook I would actually consider. Something about the Dell E firebrick red netbook just appeals to me soo much.