Not that it matters, but I wouldn’t call a macbook air a netbook. It’s an ultraportable laptop, which is different. Netbooks generally have smaller screens (say, 8-12 inches as opposed to 13 on the MBA), are underpowered (atom vs. core 2 duo), and have smaller keyboards (MBA has a full-sized keyboard).

Now, on to your main points. First of all, macs don’t need to virtualize anything to run windows applications. Macs with intel processors (every computer they’ve made for the last few years) can run windows natively through boot camp. Having said that, of course you need to purchase a copy of windows in order to run it, but that’s really a moot issue when you consider your other main point, that a computer that runs windows applications somehow has the advantage over a computer that doesn’t. While this may have been true years ago when OSX was still a novelty OS, it certainly isn’t the case today. There are few windows applications that haven’t been replicated or improved for OSX, especially software students would use. And please don’t bring up games, because I guarantee no one is doing any serious gaming (or even causal for that matter) on a netbook.

The bottom line is that students are choosing netbooks over macs because of price, and with good reason. If I wanted a budget laptop I wouldn’t even consider a mac, I would get a netbook running linux, and in fact, I have!

you are forgetting that non-apple netbooks (macbook air IS a netbook) have one additional major advantage over macs: They can run windows applications without having to resort to virtualisation.

Amir.