MATLAB has not been qualified on Intel Atom processor for R2008b or the Student Version R2009a.
The list of system requirements for the current release is available at:
<http://www.mathworks.com/support/sysreq/current_release/>
The Atom processor is an x86 chip from Intel that can run standard operating systems like Windows and Linux. As such, we do not expect any fundamental problems.
That said, the Atom processor targets netbooks and similarly ultra-low-end PCs that are designed with the email-and-browser-only user specifically in mind. As such, we have not formally qualified Atom. If you encounter a problem, we will not be in a position to assist.
Additional confusion may arise if you endeavor to run 64-bit MATLAB, as it appears Intel 64 support is available on some Atoms, but not others. You need to choose your core with caution and we would be unable to offer guidance.
We evaluate the supported platforms each release cycle. System requirements for MATLAB 7.8 (R2009a) did not formally support the Atom processor at release time. However, it has been since qualified for the Professional Version of MATLAB 7.9 (R2009a) and our system requirements page has been updated to include it.
