If you go with a netbook, you can also probably afford to have a decent desktop system to use when you can. All notebooks suck ergonomically. As much as I love my MacBook Pro, it's nice to get back to my 22" monitor, full keyboard (at a nice typing level), and mouse. Of course, you can always use a notebook with a full-sized monitor, regular keyboard, and your favorite mouse when you're at home and have room for these things. If you choose a netbook, you might want to make sure that it's possible to easily do that. Another thing to consider is a netbook for moving around and an iMac for your home base. An iMac is super-easy to transport in its original box. It'd be no sweat to keep at school and take home for vacations, for instance. Transferring a few files wirelessly is a snap, so you won't run into issues when you switch machines. (If you're going to transfer large quantities of files, definitely plug in an Ethernet cable and go that route.)