I don't often have praise for Microsoft, but they do a pretty darn good job of creating buzz. Everywhere you go on the net lately, it seems you're inundated with the new "Ultra-mobile Personal Computer" that was under the codename Origami. Interestingly enough, I like the codename better than the official one.

Anyway, back on subject. It's no secret by now that this little gizmo is an odd little animal that falls between branches on the computer evolutionary tree. According to what we already know about it, the gizmo is bigger, heavier and more powerful than any phone, PDA or Blackberry. It's also smaller and far more underpowered than any notebook... and it has no real keyboard. Running a full version of Windows XP and being upgradeable to Vista, power is a serious concern. I have yet to see XP run well enough with less than 256MB of RAM. And not to mention, being XP, your new gizmo will deal with the same security flaws your home Windows-based PC does. Let's say you can overcome the disadvantages to a full Windows OS, the short three hour battery life and the surprising bulk for an allegedly "ultra-mobile" device. That leaves some gaping holes still. Its cost is nearly triple that of other multi-function devices such as the common PDA and the video iPod. Even beyond that is consumer overload. With the myriad of choices out there, this device is just another headache to sift through when making a decision to buy. And naturally, if I already own a cell phone, and an MP3 player as well as a notebook, why on earth do I need to spend $1,000 for a device to replace my previous investments?