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> Sure, I don't have a Hi-Res screen (the one Pro feature I wanted on the 13"), but I can actually upgrade my computer in 3 years when 4GB RAM becomes a bottleneck. Now that's a low year-over-year computing cost.

You can also upgrade your MBP RAM cheaply today (or tomorrow) to 8GB.

Not only does the MB Air not support 8GB, it's soldered on, so you can't upgrade.

I think that point is that if he were buying a MBP that it would not be able to justify the purchase to himself without maxing everything out. So that price comparison is really only applicable to him.

Right, but even then that's not a clear comparison. Maxing out a 15" MBP makes no sense for him--he bought a 13" MBA, so he clearly believed that 256 GB SSD + 4GB RAM would cover his needs.

Does he have to always max out his Apple equipment purchases?

In the article, he was justifying maxing out the laptop with 'future-proofing' it so that he could go longer before needing to buy a new one.

I feel that it makes sense. When weighing the options I came to the exact same conclusion as the author, except my notebook is < 1 year old so I'm not actually upgrading soon, though I would like to shed weight.

If I were to buy a Pro it'd be the 15" for its resolution, and I definitely want 8GB of memory. However the 13" Air is compelling because of the size & weight. If it were available with 8GB of memory that would be the way to go, but it's not.

Personally I'm holding out for the 15" Air. Ideally with a faster CPU (Core i3 or i5 is fine), up to 8GB or 16GB of memory, and a resolution of 1680x1050. While I'm wishing it should also have a matte option. The Air is nice but it's not a portable workstation replacement, yet.

I think that the point is that if you can survive with a MBA with 4GB, then you can survive with a MBP with 4GB and just save the money. The same for the other specs that he was maxing out. He then went on to conclude that the lower specs meant that he might have to replace his laptop sooner, but the lower price meant that wasn't much of an issue. This side-steps the fact that if you lower the specs on the MBP you could say the same thing (lower specs == replace sooner, but lower cost offsets this).

No argument there. However as you start cutting things from the 15", driving the price down, it gets less and less compelling when compared to the 13" Air. The upgraded specs are the only reason to prefer the 15" over the Air at the same price, the Air is 1/2 the size & weight. Of course this is only my opinion, and it's merely a coincidence that I share it with this particular author. I'm not sold on the Air yet though, I think it needs a couple of iterations before it'll be a great Pro replacement and not just a passable one.

If you take the base 15" and add a 128GB SSD to make it as cheap as possible it's $1999. Unless you really care about the CPU, graphics card, optical drive, or FireWire (which I don't, but others do) you're paying $200 more for a larger, heavier machine. With less storage. If you add the 256GB SSD it's $2399, which makes it even less compelling. I'd rather put that $600 towards a 27" display and still have a 256GB SSD.

The only reasons for me to prefer the 15" are greater resolution or memory capacity, without those I only benefit for the faster CPU. Again this is very much my opinion and I don't expect everyone to agree. I'm not baffled that we disagree, people value different things based on their usage patterns.

Are you sure you want to own your MacBook for 3 years?

The depreciation on Apple laptops is low enough that you can resell it and trade up to the latest refresh once a year for the same cost as trading up once every 3 years. If you're interested in the best bang-for-your-buck and can put up with the hassle, you should definitely think about it.

I'm at 3.5+ years on my current white macbook, and finally about ready to get a new one. Use it most of the day, most days for web and misc development.

Thinking a macbook pro with SSD & 8GB has a chance of lasting even longer.

Oh, without a doubt— I'm on the third year with this MBP, and I ran my old iBook even longer than that. They're great machines, and they do last forever.

The point is more that rather than running one machine into the ground until it's thoroughly obsolete (three years give or take) and then paying full price for a new one, one could resell a year later when it's still worth nearly what you paid for it and upgrade to the newest model. The price per year works out to be more or less the same, but you have cutting-edge hardware year after year rather than spending two years out of three in comparative obsolescence.

Are you sure you want to own your MacBook for 3 years?

I owned my white, 1st-generation MacBook for 5 years. To be fair, I wasn't coding then, so I might take your advice for this new laptop.

3 years here, still working great - though I put in a bigger, 7200rpm HDD a year ago. It hurts on AAA modern games, but I don't play them anyway - indie stuff usually runs flawlessly.

The only thing I use my DVD drive for is movies (but I recently got Netflix), and a recent troubleshooting round on a 1st gen MBA. And I made an install USB stick, so I don't need the drive any more anyway.

This has easily been the longest-lasting computer I've purchased, especially in the laptop realm. I'm thrilled with what it cost me.

I'm always surprised by people that don't see 13" screens as having a utility value - portability. I've recommended people get 13" laptops when their needs require this portability (eg: tertiary students). Those that said "no, I want a big screen!" for the e-peen value later regretted lugging a 15" screen around. Big screens are awesome... unless you're moving around a lot.

Personally, I love my little 12" thinkpad :)

It is easy for the comparison to come out either way depending on personal preferences because the specs are pretty close.

I did the exact same assessment as you 4 months ago and bought the MBA 13" because a) I cared about the high-res screen more than the processor speed, and b) I only expect it to last 2 years so 4GB RAM is enough (insofar as you can ever have enough RAM.)

so 4GB RAM is enough (insofar as you can ever have enough RAM.)

If you're doing lots with VirtualBox or VMWare, then 4GB isn't quite enough. 6GB is pretty comfortable, though.

I have the tiny MBA and the 4gb ram is only an issue when I am doing ruby development. Also, I pretend that ie doesn't exist ;)

I agree the comparison was not valid, but the MBA's value is more than just a built-in SSD. It is significantly lighter.

Lighter, thinner, higher res at the same physical dimensions.

Like the poster below says, its lighter, thinner, and has a nicer screen. My MBP has a DVD drive (yes, I still use Netflix discs because no, their instant doesn't have everything), better graphics, and a killer CPU by comparison.

It really is about tradeoffs. My MBP is my only computer, and I need the above.

You forgot the backlit keyboard.

Very true. I've used an Air as my only development and design machine for 2 years now; I love it; the thing has only 2Gb of RAM and it's still blazing fast for most everything. This is completely due to the SSD, which wasn't standard when I bought it, but seemed worth splurging for. I sleep better at night with less moving parts. When I sleep. Which I don't.