What do you think about the Dell mini 12?

Ok i know people think this is crappy, but let me tell you that i already have an apple computer, the big screen one. Im just looking for a nice portable laptop or net book for me to use. All i want is fast internet, word, and so i can go on video chat. * And can you do ichat or video chat with an apple with the dell mini?What do you think about the Dell mini 12?I have one. I have used similar machines. I have both 3-cell and 6-cell battery as well.



The biggest nuisances on this computer are the tiny %26lt;%26gt;? and ,./ keys. However, after typing on it for a while, it doesn't seem like anything.



The other nuisance is if you are not typing very diligently, you can brush the edge of the touch pad. That said, the touch pad is very nice although not multi-touch.



This doesn't have 802.1n, but most people have 802.1b or g anyway. The wifi antenna works better than the mini 9 and most couple of year old laptops from my experience. For instance, at my friend's house, he can only see his own network while I can see all four of his neighbors' networks. It is nice to have a built-in wifi that picks up signal. I have used 100mW+ adapters before, but that is a bit much to be hauling around everywhere.



On the hauling... that is the key of these. The tiny power adapter fits in my coat and the computer itself barely weighs anything. Every other portable computer I have ever owned was weighed more and/or was bulkier. Unlike some other netbook PCs I tried, it doesn't feel like the case will dent in a backpack either. I don't know if you've ever seen a plastic laptop case with dents, but that tends to happen in backpacks. I actually take this computer out of the house too which is different. All of my heavy laptops that I've owned, I would very rarely take outside and that was only if I was going somewhere. This one is so light that it is like taking a book with me.



Some people have said these tip over, but I sit up straight, so I haven't noticed that.



The webcam needs some adjusting for video. It works on skype very well without any settings, but I've found it to be too much (1.3 MP) for other programs and have to adjust it. Most webcams are only 0.3MP, so chat programs don't know how to handle much more than that I guess. For quality, it isn't as good as a $100 webcam, but it is better than the average laptop webcam. I've had some glitches with audio on this computer, but that can be adjusted in settings as well.



One thing you can't do on mini 12 is install OSX. I have ubuntu but I have tried XP on it and it seems okay, but I deleted it with the restore disk as it was taking up too much space.



For your question about iChat, iChat is a mac version of AIM, so AIM clients can video chat with iChat.



I like the bluetooth feature, I have noticed that is lacking in some computers.



I think that most of the people on the internet who say these are crappy have read consumer reports or some early reviews and never actually used one of these. The screen itself sells for $239 (at least to replace it) which is most of the price of these, so it does very well for $160 worth of computer parts. You can find refurbished ones even less, I've seen as low as $250 with coupon.