Almost? If you live and die by external design and feel (trackpad, keyboard, sturdiness) than most everything but a Macbook will seem inferior, but overall if y

Almost? If you live and die by external design and feel (trackpad, keyboard, sturdiness) than most everything but a Macbook will seem inferior, but overall if you're an equal-opportunity platform user and want the thinnest and lightest complete desktop replacement like me, I don't think it's remotely close. I'm typing this on a year-old Z11, which you can pick up used now for about the cost of a MBA, with: * Core i5 520m * 8GB RAM * 256GB SSD * DVD+RW * Switchable graphics w/ GeForce GT 330M (1GB) * 1600x900 13" matte display * HDMI out * VGA out * Gigabit ethernet * 3 USB 2.0 ports * Fingerprint reader * Expresscard 34 * 3 lbs * swappable 4 hr standard battery, 7 hr extended battery If you need everything in a thin-and-light, the last generation of Sony Z was pretty unbeatable. I heartily recommend a used model to devs I meet. Even still, I was seriously considering getting the new MBA, as the Sony is flimsy with so much crammed into it, the trackpad is tiny, much of my dev work targets *nix, and I'd like to get into some iOS projects. But 4GB max? If they'd offered 8GB RAM, I might have pulled the trigger.