Since the dawn of the personal computer as a reasonably priced appliance in the home, everything has been fueled by faster/bigger/more powerful. This has worked out really well for myself and other enthusiasts because it meant the latest-and-greatest would have to be competitively priced. But who needs a system with 4 cores for email, web and office applications (especially since most of this is freely available as an online service). Thanks, Google!

Well, the coolest little computer to be announced so far that really seems to tackle the need for a machine to elegantly do what is needed and nothing more is the CrunchPad. Check it out. Digg it. StumbleUpon it. We need more of this (let’s not even get started on the fact that keyboards and mice are still the main way to interact with our machines).