Just a short blog post to confirm that my minimalistic gear setup consisting of the Acer Aspire One netbook, the G-Tech Mini 250 gb hard drive, the Domke F3-X plus my Canon 5D Mark II with a 28-70mm 2.8 and 17-40mm 4.0 mm, has worked marvelously well here in Cairo.The small Domke bag holds all the above gear, plus the Marantz PMD 620 and assorted paraphernalia including travel documents. This has literally liberated me from carrying a much heavier load, spares my back and shoulders and is easy to carry in the field.
It has proven to be an ideal gear combination for a short term trip/assignment. I'm still uncomfortable with Aspire's Windows OS, but it's a small price to pay for the convenience. I don't know what Apple is thinking, but I really believe it's making a mistake in not producing a netbook.
For netbook candy, have a look at the Asus Eee 1008HA, aka the Seashell on The New York Times' Gadgetwise.