MacBook is perfect for programmers?

[AdamRock]

i have a 17" i use for programming, the 15 would suffice though...and wait for the lineup to get refreshed.

 

[leetlamer]

College student here.

I have the latest MBP 13" revision and its great for programming. Mac OS X being unix based is super handy, plus MBPs are really well made.

I used to be a PC fanboy 100%, I still like building my own desktop PCs, but in terms of laptops, Apple is second to none.

 

[flyingturtle]

Now, if we are talking about 13'' screen, wouldn't 13'' MBA be a better option than 13'' MBP from a performance point of view? Those SSDs do really make a difference. In 13'' screen category, assuming the 13'' MBP refresh doesn't get the SSDs as standard option, the MBA version sounds like a better choice. And I do get your point about saving the extra money for the iPad2. Hmm. Tough choices.

True. the SSDs make a difference, however in my case, I was disappointed with the Air mainly because of the processor speed. The fastest Air model was slower than my 4-year-old MacBook Pro. Ouch. I did buy the fastest processor at the time though and paid a premium for it, but i had a hard time justifying buy a new laptop, the Air model, that was slower, or at best, the same speed as my MacBook Pro, and I could just replace my MPB drive with a SSD to gain the HD performance increase.

I'm not sure which has a bigger impact on compile times, if doing development, but I would imagine both, as compiling is CPU intensive but if you have a lot of files, then the quicker SSD I would think would also result in less compile times.

Though the portability of the Air is a definite draw, and I may consider if it gets faster, but still not sure if I would pay for that extra slimness as I get more bang for my buck with the MBP (faster cpu, better GPU, ability to change RAM, etc). But the Air is definitely a nice machine.

If I had neither the iPad nor an existing MPB (which I want to upgrade from), then I can see the appeal of the Air to a new buyer a lot more, which is your situation.

 

[jvmxtra]

True. the SSDs make a difference, however in my case, I was disappointed with the Air mainly because of the processor speed. The fastest Air model was slower than my 4-year-old MacBook Pro. Ouch. I did buy the fastest processor at the time though and paid a premium for it, but i had a hard time justifying buy a new laptop, the Air model, that was slower, or at best, the same speed as my MacBook Pro, and I could just replace my MPB drive with a SSD to gain the HD performance increase.

I'm not sure which has a bigger impact on compile times, if doing development, but I would imagine both, as compiling is CPU intensive but if you have a lot of files, then the quicker SSD I would think would also result in less compile times.

Though the portability of the Air is a definite draw, and I may consider if it gets faster, but still not sure if I would pay for that extra slimness as I get more bang for my buck with the MBP (faster cpu, better GPU, ability to change RAM, etc). But the Air is definitely a nice machine.

If I had neither the iPad nor an existing MPB (which I want to upgrade from), then I can see the appeal of the Air to a new buyer a lot more, which is your situation.

I couldn't agree more w/ flying-turtle