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Comment by dgallagher | Hacker News Reader

From my personal experience, I liked coding Python with Textmate on a MBA, but not Objective-C with Xcode. Py/Text didn't take up much space and was easy to work with. Obj-C/Xcode demand lots of real-estate space, so the tiny screen was a hinderance.

So I'd advise that if you have a language that's 'tiny' and a minimalist editor, you'll probably do fine on a MBA. If the language and editor take up lots of space, I'd stay away and go with something that has a bigger screen (exception if you plan on using an external monitor).

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FYI, the 13in MBA has the exact same screen resolution as the stock 15in MBP, and the 11in MBA is comparable to the 13in MBP (different ratio though), so both models can basically show the same amount of stuff on the screen (unless you were preferring something like a large iMac for XCode).

I am mainly an Android developer and use Eclipse, which is by no means light...So I guess, in this case, I should stay away from the MBA?

A good test would be to try out the MBA's resolution on your current display, and work with Eclipse in it. 1366x768 for the 11 inch, and 1440x900 for the 13.

Fonts and interface chrome always seem to take up a tiny bit more space on OS X. Not usually an issue but I'd take it into account if, on Windows, a given res is barely usable.

I have a 13-inch air; the pixels are tiny. If you try 1440x900 on a large monitor, bear in mind smaller fonts may not be using once you shrink down to laptop size.

Apple stores seem pretty liberal about machine use (notwithstanding the guy being prosecuted for installing webcam upload software on a store's machines..) - maybe you could download Mac Eclipse to a USB key and try it out on a machine?

The biggest issue with IDE is screen real estate, rather than performance. While eclipse is an absolute dog, 4GB RAM and an SSD should be sufficient to work with it. The painful part is the surface eaten by the various panes and bars of the IDE.

No. You'll be fine. Possibly, you'll have screen estate issues with the 11" air, but that's about the only issue with Eclipse you'll have. The SSD will severely speed things up.

Call the apple store, tell them this, you will be able to install it or they will on a floor model to show you.

They're super keen on stuff like this.

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