Obviously, some of the many rough edges need to (and will) be addressed but this is the vanguard in the death of the traditional PC (and Mac) ..... and I can't wait to throw off the storage and application shackles!
I would think that around 50mb/sec (unlimited) broadband will be the absolute minimum standard required.
My prediction for 2012 is that we will start to see computer 'contracts', much the same as current mobile contracts, where the netbook hardware is bundled with the monthly broadband cost. This will enable broadband providers with OEM partners to quickly upgrade the whole broadband infrastructure to 100/200+ mb/sec.
Memory, storage and applications are 'asset liabilities' that need to be maintained, backed up, protected and updated; they are only relatively cheap. A good metaphor here I think is Encyclopaedia Brittanica ... proprietary, expensive and always out-of-date; Wiki has open-sourced this concept in the perfect shared information resource (as long as Jimmy Wales can keep the business model robust).
Of course current lengthy mobile phone contract tie-ins are a direct response to the UK 3G contracts 'heist' and they are unreasonable from the consumer point of view. These cannot survive in the long run - falling costs and competition will take care of this.
No brothers, I'm definitely with the release of the systems equipment shackles and for the march toward freedom on the info/energy highway. I'm even tempted to suggest ditching the fission B-roads for the fusion motorways ... but I realize this is a metaphor too far
