Cross-posting my comment from the blog so the HN'ers can reply to it:

Mike's wrong on the "content creation" comment regarding the iPad. There are plenty of good apps for notetaking, drawing, even writing. I've switched from my MacBook Pro to the iPad for those tasks as it's much lighter. The soft keyboard takes some getting used to, but it's the same size (in landscape) as the external Apple keyboards, and it's plenty easy to type on after getting used to not having physical feedback. (I've already typed a 3-page paper on it.)

For a CS degree, though, there are a few downsides. The iPad doesn't have any good coding software yet, and you'll be doing a lot of that. Labs aren't a great solution, either. Do you really want to have to leave the comfort of your own room to do homework? My school (University of Missouri) has a Unix account for every student, and I've been able to SSH in to accounts there to do some coding, but it's nowhere near as good as having a GUI editor, especially if you aren't used to vi or a similar editor. You'll definitely want something with a traditional OS on it for coding purposes, at least for now. Who knows, in the future, someone may make a decent IDE for the iPad, and the point will be moot. For now, it's not a great option.

The "power combo" is an interesting idea, and it's pretty much what I'm doing now, but with a MacBook Pro in place of the Mac mini, as I've stopped taking my MBP to most classes, opting for the iPad instead. The only downside to this is that you're stuck without a laptop in the case that you have to meet with a group to work on an assignment outside of class. I don't know what college you're planning on going to, but the labs at my college fill up fast and most people usually end up meeting in a generic "commons" area and using laptops to work on projects. Like I said, though, you'll be fine with the iPad for anything except coding.

Depending on the way your school acts, an iPad may be just fine. I don't know the number of group projects you'll be doing and the order your classes will go in. In my freshman year, we had a ton of "fluff" classes early on, where I wasn't doing any coding. The iPad will be fine for those courses. Of your options, I'd definitely lean towards the "power combo", but if it's an option, I'd start the semester with just the iPad. Give it a few weeks, see if it's working out for you. If you've got too much going on, and you find yourself hitting the labs more than you'd like, add the mini. The reason for going without is to allow yourself to make sure you're using the full potential of the iPad, and that you aren't relying too heavily on the other computer as a crutch. If you end up needing that crutch, I'd stick with your current, busted laptop before giving in and buying the mini. Ubuntu's going to be a great for the early classes (assuming that your school will start with Java, like most do), and you may be able to eke a few more years out of the hardware. Trust me, the early years are not going to require a huge amount of processing power or memory. 1.6GHz will be more than enough to compile 20 lines of Java. :P

Conclusion: Start with the iPad. Use your busted laptop if you need to. Only if those two options combined are a problem, go for the mini. If you can hold out through your freshman year with just the iPad and laptop, I'm sure someone will have released an iPad IDE by then, and you'll be golden. People have started releasing web "IDEs" already, so it's only a matter of time.

No matter what, have fun at college. It's a great time.