[nikmobi]

I would always recommend a MacBook. I used to always stick with various non-Macbook laptops (Sony, Samsung, Lenovo, etc). I switched to a MBP a few years ago and don't think I can go back. Have bought 5-6 different MacBooks since.

[Analemma_]

For the MBP I think there is no argument. The OP is asking about the MBA though, and then it gets trickier because Apple is still shipping it with that godawful 1440x900 screen. Computers like the XPS 13 have really leapfrogged Apple in that respect. There are still a lot of pluses in the MBA's column but having used high-DPI screens, I couldn't go back to that one. Don't forget that Dell ships the "Developer Edition" with reasonably robust driver support out of the box.

[guitarbill]

> because Apple is still shipping it with that godawful 1440x900 screen

This. The MBA is fine for most things I do; in fact I prefer a slower CPU if it gives me more battery life. But the screen is so bad I regret getting the MBA anytime I look at a different screen, including phones.

edit: however, I recommend the MBP. I've only had bad experiences with Linux on laptops, which I have to use for work. HiDPI sucks on Linux. You'll get conflicting advice, most of which is useless because maybe the person telling you <Linux dist> is the best" really likes tweaking <Linux dist>.

[ramblerman]

Given the MBP is currently more than 2 years old, and there is still no sign of an update I'm not so sure.

I own a mid 2012 MBP (16gig ram, ssd, retina) and really want to upgrade pronto.