That question has been asked on Yahoo! Answers and on our own Dell Forums, but it was a tweet forwarded to me by ChrisBatDell that first brought it to my attention.

While I'd seen a lot of chatter online about people pushing these netbooks to run Mac OS (nicely reviewed here by Andy Ihnatko), I had not thought users might be trying to experience virtual worlds with them.  A netbook is really designed to be a compliment to your home or work PC that will let you easily access the Web, check e-mail and do light tasks like that. 

But, why not check it out?  I turned to one of our senior technical analysts who you'll find around Dell Island in Second Life most evenings as Esperto Dell and his quick test on a Mini 9 with 9MB video and the Intel GMA945 can be seen here:

 

The results: Yes, Second Life will run on a Dell Mini 9, but it was rather slow and laggy. Esperto recommended something with a stronger video option like a laptop from the Studio or XPS families if you want mobile access.

Although ... SLim, Second Life's instant messenger client, might be a good option for connecting with your SL friends while you are digital nomading it with your Dell Mini.

Anyone out there tried that?

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