Plan9's acme editor was based on Oberon, FWIW - you can probably find more info there. I have a lot of respect for the design, but have never gotten comfortable with it. (I've used Emacs for years, vi for several years before that.) Its "every word in every buffer is also a command if you click on it the right way" seems like the best mouse/keyboard UI synthesis I've seen, though, if you're doing actual work with complex tools you can invest time in learning. A lot of GUI design seems optimized for people doing simple stuff and hoping the UI will be self-evident / "intuitive". I wouldn't expect AutoCAD to be "intuitive", for example - the problem domain itself is far too complex.
Also, I use dwm, and got a netbook recently (dual-booting Windows 7 and Debian). On a screen that smal, tiled wms really shine, and Windows 7's interface feels like a joke in comparison. The low-hanging fruit on a tiling window manager makes the biggest difference, though - having N different workspaces, automatically arranging windows, and being able to hit alt-3 to switch to the third workspace / alt-enter to open a shell is most of what you need to know.
Another thing in favor of a tiling WM (and a keyboard centric setup in general) on a netbook is that it is often more convenient to use a netbook without a mouse. I am happy to reduce my track pad use in general, especially hold-button-and-drag operations.
No kidding! The trackpad on mine is too close to the spacebar, anyway. I just have it turned off (Fn-F7) most of the time. dwm + dmenu + emacs has me pretty much covered for mouseless usage.
I was skeptical about netbooks, but saw a great deal on craigslist and decided to try one. With dwm, Emacs, and terminus, I have two 80x45 buffers, which is quite adequate. (I also bike nearly everywhere, and it weighs so little that I don't hesitate to carry it with me all the time.)
Also, I use dwm, and got a netbook recently (dual-booting Windows 7 and Debian). On a screen that smal, tiled wms really shine, and Windows 7's interface feels like a joke in comparison. The low-hanging fruit on a tiling window manager makes the biggest difference, though - having N different workspaces, automatically arranging windows, and being able to hit alt-3 to switch to the third workspace / alt-enter to open a shell is most of what you need to know.