I've never been on a different road since the late 90's so it's nothing new for me. The only difference I guess is that in the case of netbooks, I was using effectively the same machine as you are 7 years ago 😛
True, the hassle of not having an optical disk has become much less since Windows Vista / 7 - but in my case I've had this situation on a regular basis since I started buying ultraportables, and also as a long-time VAIO user, until very recently I've not always had to make the compromise of giving up an optical drive 'just in case' as Sony have always managed to shoehorn one in while being in the same weight class as machines without.
I think also people simultaneously overestimate and underestimate their computing needs. i.e. you think to yourself 'machine needs to be able to do w, x, y, z' while not actually needing to do x y and z on the move, and in any case a desktop would do x y and z ten times better.
Which is why 15-inch machines are popular for people who can't make up their mind, and a move to a 13/11-inch comes as a revelation for many.
I've always primarily operated two categories of notebooks: Flagship subnotebooks for actually taking around on a daily basis, and flagship notebooks in terms of power for the odd occasion that I need to show or do something that actually needs a decent rubber band while still being luggable. The rest has been fulfilled by desktops. For me, regardless of what those who do what they consider work from Starbucks think about the 'post-PC' age, this situation will not change.
The Ultrabooks are simply an evolution of where ubiquitous portable computing is going. The concept isn't new, and anyone says Apple came up with it or refined it in any particular way is full of shit.
However, Apple have proven that you can sell crap in very pretty unisex-friendly clothing, pretty much like any other industry, because that's how most people respond - even supposedly objective reviewers fall over themselves to report the positives, let alone the completely emotion-led, popularity-obsessed morons who seem to make up the bulk of the tech press these days.
So I think the 'trend battle' becomes more about aesthetics and attention to detail in the consumer-visible design. Generally one that flatters the consumer in terms of their self image and expectations. I still think Apple has the high ground in that by a looooong margin, and in terms of the wider market, I don't think most people care about technical superiority. And Apple's affordable pricing no longer sets the bar of entry to Apple's products that high.
Every competitor bar Sony these days seems to be always a bit different from a technical perspective, but basically always the result of 'being inspired' by Apple products. I don't think that's a way to compete effectively, but most other companies appear unable to let the industrial designer be the prima donna (as is clearly the case at Apple), let the engineers follow the lead, and see where that takes them.
It'll be interesting to see where the competition among the PC makers will be. I suspect it'll be price and Apple-like-ness, as usual, putting them further behind. But I guess what's what happens when you listen to your customers, instead of knowing them - which is where most non-Apple makers still are at. I'm not saying that's a bad thing in markets where your customers actually know what they're talking about - but I don't think that it's that great an idea for consumer products.
