. . . .were in, and decided to maintain the $999 price point. This is a horrible decision. Good for gross margins, naturally, but sad news for the large pool of sub-1K buyers (and substantially more than a buck under a grand). Unless, of course, Apple introduces more MacBooks to widen the family and price spread.
With Windows 7 installed on just a middling to satisfactory laptop, the MacBook's appeal at $999 is stunted at best. Oh yeah, and let's throw in the separate adapters as a bonus topic.
The new MacBook is absolutely gorgeous. It's not just the thinnest, flattest, generic electronic slab of computer. It is, however, a computer whose curves are beautiful, and the semi-plumpness makes the machine more ergonomic and full of personality. It is so clean, uncluttered, and elemental without a bunch of indecent-looking ports and bells and whistles on the exterior. The rubbery bottom is beautiful and I can imagine how good it would feel to hold. Apparently the screen has been vastly improved over the last model (whose screen was abominable in my opinion).
Instead of having an entry-level notebook that one must buy because that's all that he/she can afford, it is a desirable item that seemingly anyone would enjoy, even if only on the side of his/her primary machine. I think that the couple of features that have been dropped (a firewire port and the external battery indicator) won't matter to those whom this notebook is aimed. Most peripherals nowadays use USB connectivity anyway and if one needs something more he/she should probably get a MacBook Pro. I never use the external battery indicator. I'll just look at the software indicator while the computer is on. Obviously the power cord indicator light will also tell you in less detail whether the battery is full or needs to be charged.
dammit … they didn't opt for a white macbook with black border. Now, that would be very Miami Vice and sexy as hell!
Black would have just totally ruined this computer for me. A black Mac is a wretched Mac in my opinion. The totally arctic enclosure is part of its appeal!
It definitely would've looked Miami though, that's for sure; but unless one lives in Miami I don't know if that would be a good thing.
Good catch! looks like this is one of the areas that they saved a little money. I have never used that feature. I can see what my battery status is in more detail from the Menu Bar.
I never used that feature either. 'Glad it's gone.
What most people bitching about the specs seem to forget, is that these MacBooks have much faster processors and RAM (1066MHz vs 800MHz), so it is not a minor update at all.
. . . .were in, and decided to maintain the $999 price point. This is a horrible decision. Good for gross margins, naturally, but sad news for the large pool of sub-1K buyers (and substantially more than a buck under a grand). Unless, of course, Apple introduces more MacBooks to widen the family and price spread.
With Windows 7 installed on just a middling to satisfactory laptop, the MacBook's appeal at $999 is stunted at best. Oh yeah, and let's throw in the separate adapters as a bonus topic.
They already dropped the price once this year. They aren?t going to drop it every time they have a release. I think this will be a smash with there LED backlight and 7 hour battery for $1k. Apple has shown no intention of competing with the arguably adequate much cheaper notebooks that have much smaller margins. I see no problem with this decision. They had record sales last quarter. If they go too cheap they just end up selling a machine for less profit while risking a supply chain issue, thus not able to make up the difference with higher volume sales. I have to think Apple is more aware of what they can produce, sell, and what their market segment will bear than we are.
They already dropped the price once this year. They aren?t going to drop it every time they have a release. I think this will be a smash with there LED backlight and 7 hour battery for $1k. Apple has shown no intention of competing with the arguably adequate much cheaper notebooks that have much smaller margins. I see no problem with this decision. They had record sales last quarter. If they go too cheap they just end up selling a machine for less profit while risking a supply chain issue, thus not able to make up the difference with higher volume sales. I have to think Apple is more aware of what they can produce, sell, and what their market segment will bear than we are.
I agree.
The only reason Apple can make the money they do is because of the quality (second) and the following (first). Once they reach 40% or greater of the market share, you will see their margins fall. Everyone will bitch and moan about something (far greater than what we already do on AI!). Once you get so big you start making concessions like MSFT did.
The only reason Apple can make the money they do is because of the quality (second) and the following (first). Once they reach 40% or greater of the market share, you will see their margins fall. Everyone will bitch and moan about something (far greater than what we already do on AI!). Once you get so big you start making concessions like MSFT did.
Apple should get the premium while they can.
Reaching 40% seems impossible when HP, the largest PC maker in the world only has 25% with a great deal of notebooks in the $400 range that I don?t think would turn any profit if not for the pre-installed crapware revenue. Apple?s Macs already take a reported ⅓ of all pre-built PC sale revenue in the US. Getting to 15% Mac marketshare combined with their other revenue would likely make Apple the most valuable US company, even pushing well past MSFT?s $230B market cap, while MS would still have over 90% of the OS marketshare.
I think the margins will fall for higher volume sales very carefully as a market segment gets saturated. Apple already has 92% of the $1000+ market segment, this new MacBook may very well affect that, but I wonder how they?ll fair with the PCs $900 and over. While some of the trolls here said Apple must be faltering to have lowered prices, I think the major PC vendors were simply scared that they were now going to lose even more revenue to Apple.
Reaching 40% seems impossible when HP, the largest PC maker in the world only has 25% with a great deal of notebooks in the $400 range that I don?t think would turn any profit if not for the pre-installed crapware revenue. Apple?s Macs already take a reported ⅓ of all pre-built PC sale revenue in the US. Getting to 15% Mac marketshare combined with their other revenue would likely make Apple the most valuable US company, even pushing well past MSFT?s $230B market cap, while MS would still have over 90% of the OS marketshare.
I think the margins will fall for higher volume sales very carefully as a market segment gets saturated. Apple already has 92% of the $1000+ market segment, this new MacBook may very well affect that, but I wonder how they?ll fair with the PCs $900 and over. While some of the trolls here said Apple must be faltering to have lowered prices, I think the major PC vendors were simply scared that they were now going to lose even more revenue to Apple.
It?s a good time to be an AAPL stockholder.
I agree with everything you stated. That is why I believe when their market share increases past a certain point their margins will start to fall.
Staying out of the $400 dollar computer war is smart. They offer up a cheap large iPhone/Limited Computer and bam, they covered the gap with something people want but don't give up big computer needs to kill their $1,000 + sales.
Apple wants the pie but I think they understand eating the whole thing can really blow.
I agree with everything you stated. That is why I believe when their market share increases past a certain point their margins will start to fall.
Staying out of the $400 dollar computer war is smart. They offer up a cheap large iPhone/Limited Computer and bam, they covered the gap with something people want but don't give up big computer needs to kill their $1,000 + sales.
Apple wants the pie but I think they understand eating the whole thing can really blow.
And I agree with everything you stated. I see Mac growth from 4 places:
1) new markets (countries)
2) new market segments (lower prices)
3) new products (15? polycarb MB?)
4) new customers within a market segment (convince people TCO is lower for Mac).
They already appear to the 4th one working well at about 50% each quarter. We?ve seen the lower cost MB and I think that will stay set for a long time as each new drop should typically increase volume while also dramatically increasing the saturation threshold. Dramatic economic changes can obviously effect it.
They don?t seem to be moving too fast to enter new countries. Europe Mac growth is growing and Paris finally gets and Apple Store. Apple never did seem comfortable with international Mac sales. I hope this changes for the better.
I do think that a 15? polycarb unibody MB would a great fit for Apple to maintain a margins while also grabbing a whole lot of people that just don?t want the 13? notebook. 15? was standard as 4:3 and it seems to have stayed that way with 16:10.
PS: I hope they go to 16:9 with future notebooks as I already miss the taller display of my 12? PB over my 13? MBP. That will just make it worse. I?d likely have to move to a 15? then.
Would love to recommend this to my friends who don't have a Mac but Apples insistence on ripping off anyone outside of the US is just not on, simply put the, attitude seems to be if you aren't am American you can bend over and take it like a bitch.
I won't recommend it on principal.
There are a ton of reasons for price differentials between various markets, most of which are beyond Apple's control, .... i.e. currency differences, trade restrictions, special taxes etc. I wouldn't be so quick to jump all over Apple for not being able to control your countries differences. Of course, I'm not looking to always find something to whine and bitch about ..... .just sayin'
Surely you realize that should it be required, one may special order the new MacBook from the Apple Store website with up to 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB HD. I, too, agree that the design is stunning.
Surely you realize that should it be required, one may special order the new MacBook from the Apple Store website with up to 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB HD. I, too, agree that the design is stunning.
Sure...
For an additional US 250.00 (for a mere additional 2 gigs of RAM and a 5400 RPM HD) which is rather exorbitant given that one can get the same 'upgrades' for nearly half the price, on any given weekend, at Fry's electronics.
Undoubtedly these are specs (4gb RAM/500gb HD) that ANY US 1000.00 laptop should feature as standard issue in the year 2009, yet they're US 250.00 upgrades on the 'plastic' MacBook.
For an additional US 250.00 (for a mere additional 2 gigs of RAM and a 5400 RPM HD) which is rather exorbitant given that one can get the same 'upgrades' for nearly half the price, on any given weekend, at Fry's electronics.
Undoubtedly these are specs (4gb RAM/500gb HD) that ANY US 1000.00 laptop should feature as standard issue in the year 2009, yet they're US 250.00 upgrades on the 'plastic' MacBook.
That is always a way to go but, especially if you want HW that Apple simply doesn?t offer, but I would let Apple do my upgrade from 2GB to 4GB RAM now that there RAM is more reasonably priced. There price is $100 while Fry?s is $80, and that doesn?t include the education discount many can get from Apple. Plus, Apple is then responsible for the RAM so I feel better protected if something were to needs service and less likely to have a problem from Apple?s RAM.
The HDD I?d go with from Newegg or some other source, but go for a drive a faster drive. I?d also wait until larger drives come out as the initial size will be sufficient for some time.
PS: With my last MBP purchase, right after Apple dropped the RAM price I did buy RAM at Fry?s. Kept getting freezes and kernel panics so I returned it. Paid the difference for a more expensive brand. Same thing, so I returned it for a refund. It had been a few weeks since I bought my Mac but I went to an Apple Store and they put in the RAM for me at the upgrade price. You don?t get to keep the old RAM, but it?s not like I?d sell it or use it anyway. Haven?t had a RAM issue since.
I do think that a 15” polycarb unibody MB would a great fit for Apple to maintain a margins while also grabbing a whole lot of people that just don’t want the 13” notebook. 15” was standard as 4:3 and it seems to have stayed that way with 16:10.
I don't see Apple extending the MacBook line at all. I see the current MB being entry level like the mini and the MBP move further into the Mac Pro price range (starting at $1499 for a 2.8Ghz C2D 13" MBP) and the middle consumer tier occupied by tablets ($499 w/2 year data plan or $999, $1299).
In the summer of 1969 I flew a Monocoque-design Beechcraft Musketeer Sport airplane ("Fighter plane design" they called it) through power lines over the midwest USA. Stopped the prop, bent the nosegear sideways, shoved the exhaust stacks back 3 inches. Loose wire ends popped out the side window, showering us in glass. Another ripped an 8-inch gash in the top of the left wing.
We got the engine restarted at about 25 feet above ground, flew it back to an airport 80 miles away, and landed safely. The FAA accident investigator told us if it had been any other brand of light aircraft, we'd have been decorating the Kansas wheat. Monocoque structural engineering saved my life.
I expect I could hold a new polycarbonate (the stuff they use to make F22 Raptor canopies, BTW) MacBook in front of me and take a direct hit from a subway train without so much as a rumple in my corduroys. Maybe a hangnail where my fingers gripped the edge.
Wowsers! This story alone was more than worth bringing "monococque" into the thread (on a whim)!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterO
From F1 cars and skis to submarines, buildings, and aircraft, monocoque structure today is pervasive. Yet there's probably no better example of its strength (and engineering beauty) than the common egg. Chickens may be dim but everyday they produce a natural marvel.
...and I pity the poor train.
Which came first: The unibody MacBook or the monocoque egg? I fear the answer may get confused in the far future where St. Jobs in the Church of the Holy Binary Ocelot will be credited by followers with the miracle of inventing the egg....
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism
I was going to mention the term monocoque earlier, but decided not to when a seeminlgy simple term like unibody was misunderstood.
Has there ever been an AI thread when something "seemingly simple" wasn't misunderstood??
Ergo, merely increasing the discussion's total entropy with actual ideas is likely to be minimally disruptive in the larger scheme. And turns out every reply (including yours) was instructive, or as above, even exciting. About time to break some of the stereotypical repetitive modes around here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DESuserIGN
To put too fine a point on it: ;-)
Unibody - yes, monocoque - no. Cool shrink might cause the polycarbonate skin to stress slightly, but not much -- certainly not enough to qualify as a stressed skin, which is integral to the monocoque concept.
It all depends on how the 'skin' functions. Much more likely the "skin" is more of a shell than a skin and that shell depends more on the overall nature of the material (polycarbonate) than upon internal tension for its rigidity. But of course its possible to design structures that overlap the two concepts to some extent.
Cool. Or polycarbonaceous! Again, glad I brought up something I admittedly don't know much about and now know a bit more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquatic
At least hopefully it won't fall apart like the piece of sh!t white plastic MacBooks. Anyone that owns one knows what I'm talking about! The pieces on the wrist rest. Which are of course nice and razor-sharp anyway, practically sharp enough to cut your wrists and kill you.
Uhhh, well, I'm writing this on "a piece of shit white plastic" iBook which still looks (and runs) pretty much as it did the day I bought it over four years ago (better, actually, since I bumped the mem and HD) - and that's after dragging it all over the country and several unplanned trips to the floor (I did have to replace the bezel mount and fix a hinge after one of these drops, but still).
PS: my friend introduced me to a great plastic polish that totally keeps the original lustre and my wrists are scar-free.
PPS: I really want a new toy like an MBP 15" and SL, but this thing keeps doing what I need done and won't give me the damn excuse!
Comments
With Windows 7 installed on just a middling to satisfactory laptop, the MacBook's appeal at $999 is stunted at best. Oh yeah, and let's throw in the separate adapters as a bonus topic.
Instead of having an entry-level notebook that one must buy because that's all that he/she can afford, it is a desirable item that seemingly anyone would enjoy, even if only on the side of his/her primary machine. I think that the couple of features that have been dropped (a firewire port and the external battery indicator) won't matter to those whom this notebook is aimed. Most peripherals nowadays use USB connectivity anyway and if one needs something more he/she should probably get a MacBook Pro. I never use the external battery indicator. I'll just look at the software indicator while the computer is on. Obviously the power cord indicator light will also tell you in less detail whether the battery is full or needs to be charged.
dammit … they didn't opt for a white macbook with black border. Now, that would be very Miami Vice and sexy as hell!
Black would have just totally ruined this computer for me. A black Mac is a wretched Mac in my opinion. The totally arctic enclosure is part of its appeal!
It definitely would've looked Miami though, that's for sure; but unless one lives in Miami I don't know if that would be a good thing.
Good catch! looks like this is one of the areas that they saved a little money. I have never used that feature. I can see what my battery status is in more detail from the Menu Bar.
I never used that feature either. 'Glad it's gone.
. . . .were in, and decided to maintain the $999 price point. This is a horrible decision. Good for gross margins, naturally, but sad news for the large pool of sub-1K buyers (and substantially more than a buck under a grand). Unless, of course, Apple introduces more MacBooks to widen the family and price spread.
With Windows 7 installed on just a middling to satisfactory laptop, the MacBook's appeal at $999 is stunted at best. Oh yeah, and let's throw in the separate adapters as a bonus topic.
They already dropped the price once this year. They aren?t going to drop it every time they have a release. I think this will be a smash with there LED backlight and 7 hour battery for $1k. Apple has shown no intention of competing with the arguably adequate much cheaper notebooks that have much smaller margins. I see no problem with this decision. They had record sales last quarter. If they go too cheap they just end up selling a machine for less profit while risking a supply chain issue, thus not able to make up the difference with higher volume sales. I have to think Apple is more aware of what they can produce, sell, and what their market segment will bear than we are.
They already dropped the price once this year. They aren?t going to drop it every time they have a release. I think this will be a smash with there LED backlight and 7 hour battery for $1k. Apple has shown no intention of competing with the arguably adequate much cheaper notebooks that have much smaller margins. I see no problem with this decision. They had record sales last quarter. If they go too cheap they just end up selling a machine for less profit while risking a supply chain issue, thus not able to make up the difference with higher volume sales. I have to think Apple is more aware of what they can produce, sell, and what their market segment will bear than we are.
I agree.
The only reason Apple can make the money they do is because of the quality (second) and the following (first). Once they reach 40% or greater of the market share, you will see their margins fall. Everyone will bitch and moan about something (far greater than what we already do on AI!). Once you get so big you start making concessions like MSFT did.
Apple should get the premium while they can.
I agree.
The only reason Apple can make the money they do is because of the quality (second) and the following (first). Once they reach 40% or greater of the market share, you will see their margins fall. Everyone will bitch and moan about something (far greater than what we already do on AI!). Once you get so big you start making concessions like MSFT did.
Apple should get the premium while they can.
Reaching 40% seems impossible when HP, the largest PC maker in the world only has 25% with a great deal of notebooks in the $400 range that I don?t think would turn any profit if not for the pre-installed crapware revenue. Apple?s Macs already take a reported ⅓ of all pre-built PC sale revenue in the US. Getting to 15% Mac marketshare combined with their other revenue would likely make Apple the most valuable US company, even pushing well past MSFT?s $230B market cap, while MS would still have over 90% of the OS marketshare.
I think the margins will fall for higher volume sales very carefully as a market segment gets saturated. Apple already has 92% of the $1000+ market segment, this new MacBook may very well affect that, but I wonder how they?ll fair with the PCs $900 and over. While some of the trolls here said Apple must be faltering to have lowered prices, I think the major PC vendors were simply scared that they were now going to lose even more revenue to Apple.
It?s a good time to be an AAPL stockholder.
Reaching 40% seems impossible when HP, the largest PC maker in the world only has 25% with a great deal of notebooks in the $400 range that I don?t think would turn any profit if not for the pre-installed crapware revenue. Apple?s Macs already take a reported ⅓ of all pre-built PC sale revenue in the US. Getting to 15% Mac marketshare combined with their other revenue would likely make Apple the most valuable US company, even pushing well past MSFT?s $230B market cap, while MS would still have over 90% of the OS marketshare.
I think the margins will fall for higher volume sales very carefully as a market segment gets saturated. Apple already has 92% of the $1000+ market segment, this new MacBook may very well affect that, but I wonder how they?ll fair with the PCs $900 and over. While some of the trolls here said Apple must be faltering to have lowered prices, I think the major PC vendors were simply scared that they were now going to lose even more revenue to Apple.
It?s a good time to be an AAPL stockholder.
I agree with everything you stated. That is why I believe when their market share increases past a certain point their margins will start to fall.
Staying out of the $400 dollar computer war is smart. They offer up a cheap large iPhone/Limited Computer and bam, they covered the gap with something people want but don't give up big computer needs to kill their $1,000 + sales.
Apple wants the pie but I think they understand eating the whole thing can really blow.
it's a nice way of saying cheap plastic
Or a correct way of saying "one piece molded" .... but then , correctness never was your strong point.
Apple has never manufactured a laser-etched extruded metal enclosure! Unibody is a design concept for the laptop structure it is not a material.
Dave
Taken from apple website: "That one part is called the unibody ? a seamless enclosure carved from a single piece of aluminum."
Last time I checked, aluminum is a material. Now, do you understand?
I agree with everything you stated. That is why I believe when their market share increases past a certain point their margins will start to fall.
Staying out of the $400 dollar computer war is smart. They offer up a cheap large iPhone/Limited Computer and bam, they covered the gap with something people want but don't give up big computer needs to kill their $1,000 + sales.
Apple wants the pie but I think they understand eating the whole thing can really blow.
And I agree with everything you stated. I see Mac growth from 4 places:
1) new markets (countries)
2) new market segments (lower prices)
3) new products (15? polycarb MB?)
4) new customers within a market segment (convince people TCO is lower for Mac).
They already appear to the 4th one working well at about 50% each quarter. We?ve seen the lower cost MB and I think that will stay set for a long time as each new drop should typically increase volume while also dramatically increasing the saturation threshold. Dramatic economic changes can obviously effect it.
They don?t seem to be moving too fast to enter new countries. Europe Mac growth is growing and Paris finally gets and Apple Store. Apple never did seem comfortable with international Mac sales. I hope this changes for the better.
I do think that a 15? polycarb unibody MB would a great fit for Apple to maintain a margins while also grabbing a whole lot of people that just don?t want the 13? notebook. 15? was standard as 4:3 and it seems to have stayed that way with 16:10.
PS: I hope they go to 16:9 with future notebooks as I already miss the taller display of my 12? PB over my 13? MBP. That will just make it worse. I?d likely have to move to a 15? then.
Would love to recommend this to my friends who don't have a Mac but Apples insistence on ripping off anyone outside of the US is just not on, simply put the, attitude seems to be if you aren't am American you can bend over and take it like a bitch.
I won't recommend it on principal.
There are a ton of reasons for price differentials between various markets, most of which are beyond Apple's control, .... i.e. currency differences, trade restrictions, special taxes etc. I wouldn't be so quick to jump all over Apple for not being able to control your countries differences. Of course, I'm not looking to always find something to whine and bitch about ..... .just sayin'
Stunning Design, but...
2gb RAM? 250gb HD (...)
Surely you realize that should it be required, one may special order the new MacBook from the Apple Store website with up to 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB HD. I, too, agree that the design is stunning.
Surely you realize that should it be required, one may special order the new MacBook from the Apple Store website with up to 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB HD. I, too, agree that the design is stunning.
Sure...
For an additional US 250.00 (for a mere additional 2 gigs of RAM and a 5400 RPM HD) which is rather exorbitant given that one can get the same 'upgrades' for nearly half the price, on any given weekend, at Fry's electronics.
Undoubtedly these are specs (4gb RAM/500gb HD) that ANY US 1000.00 laptop should feature as standard issue in the year 2009, yet they're US 250.00 upgrades on the 'plastic' MacBook.
Sure...
For an additional US 250.00 (for a mere additional 2 gigs of RAM and a 5400 RPM HD) which is rather exorbitant given that one can get the same 'upgrades' for nearly half the price, on any given weekend, at Fry's electronics.
Undoubtedly these are specs (4gb RAM/500gb HD) that ANY US 1000.00 laptop should feature as standard issue in the year 2009, yet they're US 250.00 upgrades on the 'plastic' MacBook.
That is always a way to go but, especially if you want HW that Apple simply doesn?t offer, but I would let Apple do my upgrade from 2GB to 4GB RAM now that there RAM is more reasonably priced. There price is $100 while Fry?s is $80, and that doesn?t include the education discount many can get from Apple. Plus, Apple is then responsible for the RAM so I feel better protected if something were to needs service and less likely to have a problem from Apple?s RAM.
The HDD I?d go with from Newegg or some other source, but go for a drive a faster drive. I?d also wait until larger drives come out as the initial size will be sufficient for some time.
PS: With my last MBP purchase, right after Apple dropped the RAM price I did buy RAM at Fry?s. Kept getting freezes and kernel panics so I returned it. Paid the difference for a more expensive brand. Same thing, so I returned it for a refund. It had been a few weeks since I bought my Mac but I went to an Apple Store and they put in the RAM for me at the upgrade price. You don?t get to keep the old RAM, but it?s not like I?d sell it or use it anyway. Haven?t had a RAM issue since.
3) new products (15” polycarb MB?)
I do think that a 15” polycarb unibody MB would a great fit for Apple to maintain a margins while also grabbing a whole lot of people that just don’t want the 13” notebook. 15” was standard as 4:3 and it seems to have stayed that way with 16:10.
I don't see Apple extending the MacBook line at all. I see the current MB being entry level like the mini and the MBP move further into the Mac Pro price range (starting at $1499 for a 2.8Ghz C2D 13" MBP) and the middle consumer tier occupied by tablets ($499 w/2 year data plan or $999, $1299).
In the summer of 1969 I flew a Monocoque-design Beechcraft Musketeer Sport airplane ("Fighter plane design" they called it) through power lines over the midwest USA. Stopped the prop, bent the nosegear sideways, shoved the exhaust stacks back 3 inches. Loose wire ends popped out the side window, showering us in glass. Another ripped an 8-inch gash in the top of the left wing.
We got the engine restarted at about 25 feet above ground, flew it back to an airport 80 miles away, and landed safely. The FAA accident investigator told us if it had been any other brand of light aircraft, we'd have been decorating the Kansas wheat. Monocoque structural engineering saved my life.
I expect I could hold a new polycarbonate (the stuff they use to make F22 Raptor canopies, BTW) MacBook in front of me and take a direct hit from a subway train without so much as a rumple in my corduroys. Maybe a hangnail where my fingers gripped the edge.
Wowsers! This story alone was more than worth bringing "monococque" into the thread (on a whim)!
From F1 cars and skis to submarines, buildings, and aircraft, monocoque structure today is pervasive. Yet there's probably no better example of its strength (and engineering beauty) than the common egg. Chickens may be dim but everyday they produce a natural marvel.
...and I pity the poor train.
Which came first: The unibody MacBook or the monocoque egg? I fear the answer may get confused in the far future where St. Jobs in the Church of the Holy Binary Ocelot will be credited by followers with the miracle of inventing the egg....
Has there ever been an AI thread when something "seemingly simple" wasn't misunderstood??
Ergo, merely increasing the discussion's total entropy with actual ideas is likely to be minimally disruptive in the larger scheme. And turns out every reply (including yours) was instructive, or as above, even exciting. About time to break some of the stereotypical repetitive modes around here.
To put too fine a point on it: ;-)
Unibody - yes, monocoque - no. Cool shrink might cause the polycarbonate skin to stress slightly, but not much -- certainly not enough to qualify as a stressed skin, which is integral to the monocoque concept.
It all depends on how the 'skin' functions. Much more likely the "skin" is more of a shell than a skin and that shell depends more on the overall nature of the material (polycarbonate) than upon internal tension for its rigidity. But of course its possible to design structures that overlap the two concepts to some extent.
Cool. Or polycarbonaceous! Again, glad I brought up something I admittedly don't know much about and now know a bit more.
At least hopefully it won't fall apart like the piece of sh!t white plastic MacBooks. Anyone that owns one knows what I'm talking about! The pieces on the wrist rest. Which are of course nice and razor-sharp anyway, practically sharp enough to cut your wrists and kill you.
Uhhh, well, I'm writing this on "a piece of shit white plastic" iBook which still looks (and runs) pretty much as it did the day I bought it over four years ago (better, actually, since I bumped the mem and HD) - and that's after dragging it all over the country and several unplanned trips to the floor (I did have to replace the bezel mount and fix a hinge after one of these drops, but still).
PS: my friend introduced me to a great plastic polish that totally keeps the original lustre and my wrists are scar-free.
PPS: I really want a new toy like an MBP 15" and SL, but this thing keeps doing what I need done and won't give me the damn excuse!