I've got an XPS 13 which has a similar form factor to the 12" MB (304mm x 200mm vs 281mm x 197mm) and love it as well for all my tasks. The key is the screen -

I've got an XPS 13 which has a similar form factor to the 12" MB (304mm x 200mm vs 281mm x 197mm) and love it as well for all my tasks. The key is the screen - pack in a reasonable number of pixels and it's perfectly usable.