ny times editor is probably using a macbook, probably a mac book pro.
i have a ibook g4 14 inch. ive seen the 13 inch and its nice. very thin and compact. the 1.83 one would be plenty enough for what you plan on using it for if you were out to save money. Also, look up your school :
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Image ... gpage.html
and youll save about 100 bucks.
one thing i can tell you for sure is to get a gig of memory.
its still a computer. no different than using win xp.