In reply to George Fisher:
Retina screen or not?
Hard to go back to Mrs B's 2011 MBA after using my 2015 rMBP. If you haven't used a retina screen, keep it that way for as long as possible
non-retina MBPs are relatively cheap.
Beware new MBPs have soldered RAM, so get a minimum of 8Gb rather than 4Gb if possible. If the SSD is smaller it isn't the end of the world as they can easily be replaced in new MBAs and MBPs.
Even better, get someone who can get educational discount to get it via the HE store on the Apple website, as this gives the equivalent cover to AppleCare for free i.e. 3 years parts and labour. Purchases through the HE store get this automatically so crazy to pay an extra 150-200 for AppleCare, plus base price is cheaper anyway. You just need to either be involved in some way with teaching (do you have an apprentice or similar?) or know someone with a school or uni affiliation (family / friends?).
Cheers
b
PS even 2006 MBs (was it the white Intel model?) are still worth 3 figure sums, which also helps ease the pain of a new one...