A machine like that runs vim/emacs perfectly, I don't see the problem. And for compiling you can use build farms if you're serious. We're getting way to used to our shiny modern toys to realise that it doesn't take much for an OS to run and do actual work.
Up to last March I was using a first generation eeepc with a resolution of 800x480, 512mb of ram and 4gb ssd. It was stretching it but didn't stop me from doing actual work with vim, compile programs (although slow) and push to github. Plus ssh on my server for heavier work.
now... browsing the Web with elinks and framebuffer was kind of a pain...
After I stuck an SSD in it, my 2nd-generation Thinkpad X100e makes a fantastic little dev box. The damn thing boots in under 5 seconds. I've always been a fan of the smaller laptops like this (I used a Thinkpad 240Z for nearly a decade).
An rMBP would be nice to have but in the meantime this laptop suits me just fine. The keyboard is better on this too. Maybe if that iPad Pro rumor pans out and it ends up having a USB port I'd just use that with one of my smaller keyboards (KBC Poker) instead.
I use a newer eeepc with 1G of ram (Atom N450). It allows me to discern what software is horribly inefficient crap and what is actually decent. It allows me to see where code changes actually have a real impact on performance and UX. Profiling isn't always nearly as helpful: it gives you numbers, which you can compare relative to each other, but it doesn't tell which numbers actually matter. And how often do people really profile?
For me using cheap low-end hardware is a feature, for development. Plus it saves me monies.
Up to last March I was using a first generation eeepc with a resolution of 800x480, 512mb of ram and 4gb ssd. It was stretching it but didn't stop me from doing actual work with vim, compile programs (although slow) and push to github. Plus ssh on my server for heavier work.
now... browsing the Web with elinks and framebuffer was kind of a pain...