BTW, the girl that I was trying to help with (bus stats) she ended up picking up a cheap PC laptop. It was infuriating to help her remap all the shortcuts/processes learned in class on a PC to the shortcut/processes on a MAC.
Word Processing/Surfing/Lightroom operates pretty much the same across both platforms. The new ultrabooks have closed the gap in terms of build quality + materials. I would give the Zenbook Prime a long look before picking the MBA.
I was faced with this decision two weeks ago: MBA 13 vs Zenbook Prime and the Lenovo X1 Carbon. I picked the X1 Carbon because it was cheaper by a large margin when equipped with the 256gb SSD drive, and the fact that it has built-in 3G (no free wi-fi in Australia, have to pay to play
) Oh, and the fact that it has a 14" screen in a 13" chassis, weighs 5% less than the MBA, has a carbon fiber chassis, and the resolution sits in the sweet spot between the MBA and the ZBP. The CSR was also able to throw in a free adapter for my charger so I can use it in Aus !