Well I'm kind of beige, and while the OP is full of [redacted], I object to backpacks purely on a stylistic level. The best you can expect are pretty much the Tumi kinds of packs and these still just look wrong.
The problem primarily comes from those who buy the 'one size does all' notebook, buys a honkin' great big machine that would result in agony if carted around in a perfectly nice messenger or document bag.
Apparently the netbook evolution has passed some people by - well, admittedly I threw away my first netbook in a matter of minutes, seeing it for what it was and not wishing to revisit a poorly-made version of a machine I had >3 years ago, but for those not expecting miracles I'm sure netbooks works for many people as an everyday carry if they have more horsepower stashed away somewhere else.
If you then have a machine which can last all day without the AC paraphenalia, then your load is considerably lightened as well.
Only when you do actually need power when moving site-to-site, well - you can do what I do which is to buy multiple machines and sprinkle them around homes/offices, but I realise that's probably not an option for most - then unfortunately then you need the backpack.
