While I'm certainly PRO-recycling and appreciate products that are designed to be recyclable, I don't get why people get SO excited about the _recyclability_ of what should be highly durable products. I loved my aluminum MBP and my brand spanking new unibody MBP because they are rock solid _durable_ laptops...
In fact I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of MacBook buyers throw far more aluminium in the non-recyclable trash bin every year than there is in one MacBook...
I'm just saying that for ME, even being very pro-recycling, I don't think much about my laptops end of life and care more durability and reduction of toxins.
Your comment proves that you are PRO-recycle when it's convenient not due to commitment.
While Aluminum may be more environmentally friendly there are times when other materials are needed to give a product eye appeal. Aluminum creates a boring look and has no personality. A perfect example would be original the Iphone which when we look back at it, cannot even cosmetically come near the 3G 3GS or iphone4. Its always important for manufacturers to realize a product has to create demand visually as well as technologically.
If Apple were to take a poll, I"m sure the majority would vote for a glass back Iphone5 as oppossed to aluminum
Oh, I don't think Apple has any issue with the desirability of its products at the moment. In fact the aluminium helps a lot in its appeal. Hold an iPad 2 and compare a plastic tablet next to it, there's just no comparison! Or just try out the MacBook Air 11" next to an Asus Eee PC. It's always clear which is more visually and tactile-wise more appealing.
With the iPhone 4 I do agree they outdid themselves visually by not using aluminium at all, but as we all know, it was a risky move.
You've put your finger on one of aluminium's major drawbacks for mobiles though.
Not everyone lives with Steve Jobs in California, and most of the rest of the world is damn cold. Even in the USA there are many places where the weather makes it pretty much impossible to use an iPad outdoors for much of the year.
Also, if we are all being green, we're supposed to turn our heating down at night. In my house, the iPad is too cold to pick up and hold until the heat comes back on in the morning. I know quite a few people, including myself, that prop the iPad up in front of a heat vent each morning for five minutes so it will become warm enough to use.
I'm not saying the problems can't be solved in fact I'd be interested in what Apple is going to do about this sort of thing. Overall however, if the iPad and iPhone and other mobiles are going to be useful devices that replace their analogue contemporaries, they have to find a solution for something like this.
Paper-based books even work in the rain as well as the cold.
I live in the Northeast and maybe I am just very weird but I've never even considered that a product might feel cold in the morning when I've made a purchase decision. I also can't remember ever having experienced that problem.
I was surprised that the latest Apple TV has a plastic case. Maybe that's just an interim design, before Apple either goes to an aluminum enclosure or embeds the circuit board into OEM HDTV sets.
So maybe Apple's purchase of Liquid Metal was for developing techniques for "injection molding" aluminum the way Liquid Metal does it with their platinum-based alloy. As slick and scratch-resistant as the Liquid Metal alloy is, the material cost may be too high for use in enclosures as big as MacBook Pros, Airs, iMacs, Mac Pros and the like. And if it's hard to recycle for whatever reason, that too could be a deal killer. (Maybe Apple could offer a discount to owners who trade in their old Apple products for recycling...)
Why "injection molding" (quoted because the Liquid Metal process is far more advanced than just injection molding)? Because as difficult as the process is to set up, it must take far less time than grinding out all that aluminum from a solid billet. Instead of forming the billet and machining 80% of it out, you could just form the enclosure. Boom.
Aluminum is the past
2007 is not 2011
Apple has LiquidMetal which Apple has total and complete control for ALL electronic products!
LiquidMetal is fast is cheap is not machined and is colorful is strong is anything else you want to think of. I think 40% to 100% cheaper than Aluminum!
But is it lighter ---- if so QED.
Look forward to a new shape for MacBooks iMacs That I believe will be like that spaceship from hitch hikers guild to the Galaxy - all black! But with color choice options (and made to order - Ford Blue with Ford symbol on board ( no Apple but at PRICE ( corporate apparel products minimum 1,000)))
Look forward to a new shape for MacBooks iMacs That I believe will be like that spaceship from hitch hikers guild to the Galaxy - all black! But with color choice options (and made to order - Ford Blue with Ford symbol on board ( no Apple but at PRICE ( corporate apparel products minimum 1,000)))
Doubt it will ever happen but not a bad idea if it can be done cost effectively and the logistics work.
A waste product produced by Aluminum processing is Fluoride. It costs a lot to properly dispose of it.
Instead, the industry has figured out a way to get paid for disposing it instead; It recycles it. It does this by selling it to municipalities, to water bottlers, and to the toothpaste industry.
By this means the toxic waste is spread out all over the world, with the idea -- scientifically unsupported -- is that its dispersal world-wide will pose no danger to humans, animals, plant life, or the environment in general. If its ingestion or exposure is a risk, it's up to those likely effected to prove that there are any dangerous effects, not the Aluminum industry to provide proof that it's safe. So far, the industry has not proved that it's safe.
Maybe if all these 'green' folks have their way, Apple could just stop making things altogether. Heck, maybe mankind should just cease to exist. That way the earth could just go on and on in total serenity...lol.
While Aluminum may be more environmentally friendly there are times when other materials are needed to give a product eye appeal. Aluminum creates a boring look and has no personality. A perfect example would be original the Iphone which when we look back at it, cannot even cosmetically come near the 3G 3GS or iphone4. Its always important for manufacturers to realize a product has to create demand visually as well as technologically.
If Apple were to take a poll, I"m sure the majority would vote for a glass back Iphone5 as oppossed to aluminum
I (respectfully) disagree. Design has to balance form and function, and I think the original iPhone and both iPad 1 and 2 achieve this. Ask the owners of the glass-back iPhone 4 as to how many have broken and owners of the 3g and 3gs how badly the plastic backs scratch
The Aluminum backs allow you to use the devices without adding a bulky/ugly case (as Apple underlines by offering the smart covers for iPad2)
My 3-yr (+) old iPhone 2g still looks near immaculate (without a case or screenprotector).
It's highly recyclable, strong, beautiful and lovely to the touch. Why on earth is Apple the only company using it as a primary material in their computer chassis? I wouldn't buy a plastic computer now. I love waking up in the morning and feeling the cold metal of my MacBook Pro when I start work. It's a huge step forward in laptop quality.
The factoid about 75% of all aluminium produced since 1888 still being in use is astonishing.
I wonder how they arrive at that figure, the best way I can imagine is maybe most aluminum is still in its first cycle, still in service or otherwise hasn't been recycled. Recycling figures seem to vary a lot, depending on who you ask. This site suggests that that roughly 30% of aluminum produced is recycled:
Apple has had to invent machining techniques to pull off the unibody design. Other companies are incapable of doing similar stuff.
I don't think Apple invented any machining techniques for unibody. I had a good look at the videos when they first introduced the unibody computer concept, as well as the stills and footage from the Objectified documentary. It looks like standard machines. Even though the fixtures are custom to those parts, it looks like their custom fixturing uses relatively common fixturing techniques. What separates Apple here is that they're willing to go to the expense of producing its unibody shells, other companies aren't willing to do that. Apple might be the first to make a high volume consumer product machined from billets. The next closest are probably engine and other car parts.
A waste product produced by Aluminum processing is Fluoride. It costs a lot to properly dispose of it.
Instead, the industry has figured out a way to get paid for disposing it instead; It recycles it. It does this by selling it to municipalities, to water bottlers, and to the toothpaste industry.
By this means the toxic waste is spread out all over the world, with the idea -- scientifically unsupported -- is that its dispersal world-wide will pose no danger to humans, animals, plant life, or the environment in general. If its ingestion or exposure is a risk, it's up to those likely effected to prove that there are any dangerous effects, not the Aluminum industry to provide proof that it's safe. So far, the industry has not proved that it's safe.
Interesting post. I am one of those who believes that fluoride is detrimental to health. I use non-fluoride toothpaste. There is also no fluoride added to tap water in Hong Kong. There have been studies linking moderate fluoride ingestion from drinking water and toothpaste to senility. Although none of these are conclusive enough to sway policy, there is clear evidence that fluoride, like all heavy metals, can kill brain cells when taken in higher dosage.
Here, I choose to play it safe.
The idea that the aluminum industry is partially behind this paints it with a very interesting new spin indeed.
Interesting post. I am one of those who believes that fluoride is detrimental to health. I use non-fluoride toothpaste. There is also no fluoride added to tap water in Hong Kong. There have been studies linking moderate fluoride ingestion from drinking water and toothpaste to senility. Although none of these are conclusive enough to sway policy, there is clear evidence that fluoride, like all heavy metals, can kill brain cells when taken in higher dosage.
I think you are right to be suspicious about the use of fluorides, but you have one fact wrong. Fluorine is a light halogen gas, atomic number 9. I haven't found any compounds used for water or toothpaste that combine Fluorine with heavy metals.
I know. When I was a kid, I'd take favoured toys to bed with me. Now I have one or two in vew as I glaze off to dream land.
LMAO .. it is really nice to be heard that you took it to your bed .. as me what about me ..? lMAO .. i took it to bathroom as well hahahaha..... because i knw its the best looking, best built laptop ever and i love my apple a lot. :P so
Comments
While I'm certainly PRO-recycling and appreciate products that are designed to be recyclable, I don't get why people get SO excited about the _recyclability_ of what should be highly durable products. I loved my aluminum MBP and my brand spanking new unibody MBP because they are rock solid _durable_ laptops...
In fact I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of MacBook buyers throw far more aluminium in the non-recyclable trash bin every year than there is in one MacBook...
I'm just saying that for ME, even being very pro-recycling, I don't think much about my laptops end of life and care more durability and reduction of toxins.
Your comment proves that you are PRO-recycle when it's convenient not due to commitment.
While Aluminum may be more environmentally friendly there are times when other materials are needed to give a product eye appeal. Aluminum creates a boring look and has no personality. A perfect example would be original the Iphone which when we look back at it, cannot even cosmetically come near the 3G 3GS or iphone4. Its always important for manufacturers to realize a product has to create demand visually as well as technologically.
If Apple were to take a poll, I"m sure the majority would vote for a glass back Iphone5 as oppossed to aluminum
Oh, I don't think Apple has any issue with the desirability of its products at the moment. In fact the aluminium helps a lot in its appeal. Hold an iPad 2 and compare a plastic tablet next to it, there's just no comparison! Or just try out the MacBook Air 11" next to an Asus Eee PC. It's always clear which is more visually and tactile-wise more appealing.
With the iPhone 4 I do agree they outdid themselves visually by not using aluminium at all, but as we all know, it was a risky move.
You've put your finger on one of aluminium's major drawbacks for mobiles though.
Not everyone lives with Steve Jobs in California, and most of the rest of the world is damn cold. Even in the USA there are many places where the weather makes it pretty much impossible to use an iPad outdoors for much of the year.
Also, if we are all being green, we're supposed to turn our heating down at night. In my house, the iPad is too cold to pick up and hold until the heat comes back on in the morning. I know quite a few people, including myself, that prop the iPad up in front of a heat vent each morning for five minutes so it will become warm enough to use.
I'm not saying the problems can't be solved in fact I'd be interested in what Apple is going to do about this sort of thing. Overall however, if the iPad and iPhone and other mobiles are going to be useful devices that replace their analogue contemporaries, they have to find a solution for something like this.
Paper-based books even work in the rain as well as the cold.
I live in the Northeast and maybe I am just very weird but I've never even considered that a product might feel cold in the morning when I've made a purchase decision. I also can't remember ever having experienced that problem.
I was surprised that the latest Apple TV has a plastic case. Maybe that's just an interim design, before Apple either goes to an aluminum enclosure or embeds the circuit board into OEM HDTV sets.
So maybe Apple's purchase of Liquid Metal was for developing techniques for "injection molding" aluminum the way Liquid Metal does it with their platinum-based alloy. As slick and scratch-resistant as the Liquid Metal alloy is, the material cost may be too high for use in enclosures as big as MacBook Pros, Airs, iMacs, Mac Pros and the like. And if it's hard to recycle for whatever reason, that too could be a deal killer. (Maybe Apple could offer a discount to owners who trade in their old Apple products for recycling...)
Why "injection molding" (quoted because the Liquid Metal process is far more advanced than just injection molding)? Because as difficult as the process is to set up, it must take far less time than grinding out all that aluminum from a solid billet. Instead of forming the billet and machining 80% of it out, you could just form the enclosure. Boom.
Aluminum is the past
2007 is not 2011
Apple has LiquidMetal which Apple has total and complete control for ALL electronic products!
LiquidMetal is fast is cheap is not machined and is colorful is strong is anything else you want to think of. I think 40% to 100% cheaper than Aluminum!
But is it lighter ---- if so QED.
Look forward to a new shape for MacBooks iMacs That I believe will be like that spaceship from hitch hikers guild to the Galaxy - all black! But with color choice options (and made to order - Ford Blue with Ford symbol on board ( no Apple but at PRICE ( corporate apparel products minimum 1,000)))
Look forward to a new shape for MacBooks iMacs That I believe will be like that spaceship from hitch hikers guild to the Galaxy - all black! But with color choice options (and made to order - Ford Blue with Ford symbol on board ( no Apple but at PRICE ( corporate apparel products minimum 1,000)))
Doubt it will ever happen but not a bad idea if it can be done cost effectively and the logistics work.
Instead, the industry has figured out a way to get paid for disposing it instead; It recycles it. It does this by selling it to municipalities, to water bottlers, and to the toothpaste industry.
By this means the toxic waste is spread out all over the world, with the idea -- scientifically unsupported -- is that its dispersal world-wide will pose no danger to humans, animals, plant life, or the environment in general. If its ingestion or exposure is a risk, it's up to those likely effected to prove that there are any dangerous effects, not the Aluminum industry to provide proof that it's safe. So far, the industry has not proved that it's safe.
While Aluminum may be more environmentally friendly there are times when other materials are needed to give a product eye appeal. Aluminum creates a boring look and has no personality. A perfect example would be original the Iphone which when we look back at it, cannot even cosmetically come near the 3G 3GS or iphone4. Its always important for manufacturers to realize a product has to create demand visually as well as technologically.
If Apple were to take a poll, I"m sure the majority would vote for a glass back Iphone5 as oppossed to aluminum
I (respectfully) disagree. Design has to balance form and function, and I think the original iPhone and both iPad 1 and 2 achieve this. Ask the owners of the glass-back iPhone 4 as to how many have broken and owners of the 3g and 3gs how badly the plastic backs scratch
The Aluminum backs allow you to use the devices without adding a bulky/ugly case (as Apple underlines by offering the smart covers for iPad2)
My 3-yr (+) old iPhone 2g still looks near immaculate (without a case or screenprotector).
It's highly recyclable, strong, beautiful and lovely to the touch. Why on earth is Apple the only company using it as a primary material in their computer chassis? I wouldn't buy a plastic computer now. I love waking up in the morning and feeling the cold metal of my MacBook Pro when I start work. It's a huge step forward in laptop quality.
The factoid about 75% of all aluminium produced since 1888 still being in use is astonishing.
I wonder how they arrive at that figure, the best way I can imagine is maybe most aluminum is still in its first cycle, still in service or otherwise hasn't been recycled. Recycling figures seem to vary a lot, depending on who you ask. This site suggests that that roughly 30% of aluminum produced is recycled:
http://www.ohiodnr.com/tabid/17846/Default.aspx
I've seen other sites say 25% of all aluminum is recycled.
Supposedly 55% of aluminum cans are recycled:
http://www.aluminum.org/AM/Template....entDisplay.cfm
Apple has had to invent machining techniques to pull off the unibody design. Other companies are incapable of doing similar stuff.
I don't think Apple invented any machining techniques for unibody. I had a good look at the videos when they first introduced the unibody computer concept, as well as the stills and footage from the Objectified documentary. It looks like standard machines. Even though the fixtures are custom to those parts, it looks like their custom fixturing uses relatively common fixturing techniques. What separates Apple here is that they're willing to go to the expense of producing its unibody shells, other companies aren't willing to do that. Apple might be the first to make a high volume consumer product machined from billets. The next closest are probably engine and other car parts.
A waste product produced by Aluminum processing is Fluoride. It costs a lot to properly dispose of it.
Instead, the industry has figured out a way to get paid for disposing it instead; It recycles it. It does this by selling it to municipalities, to water bottlers, and to the toothpaste industry.
By this means the toxic waste is spread out all over the world, with the idea -- scientifically unsupported -- is that its dispersal world-wide will pose no danger to humans, animals, plant life, or the environment in general. If its ingestion or exposure is a risk, it's up to those likely effected to prove that there are any dangerous effects, not the Aluminum industry to provide proof that it's safe. So far, the industry has not proved that it's safe.
Interesting post. I am one of those who believes that fluoride is detrimental to health. I use non-fluoride toothpaste. There is also no fluoride added to tap water in Hong Kong. There have been studies linking moderate fluoride ingestion from drinking water and toothpaste to senility. Although none of these are conclusive enough to sway policy, there is clear evidence that fluoride, like all heavy metals, can kill brain cells when taken in higher dosage.
Here, I choose to play it safe.
The idea that the aluminum industry is partially behind this paints it with a very interesting new spin indeed.
Interesting post. I am one of those who believes that fluoride is detrimental to health. I use non-fluoride toothpaste. There is also no fluoride added to tap water in Hong Kong. There have been studies linking moderate fluoride ingestion from drinking water and toothpaste to senility. Although none of these are conclusive enough to sway policy, there is clear evidence that fluoride, like all heavy metals, can kill brain cells when taken in higher dosage.
I think you are right to be suspicious about the use of fluorides, but you have one fact wrong. Fluorine is a light halogen gas, atomic number 9. I haven't found any compounds used for water or toothpaste that combine Fluorine with heavy metals.
9
my i phone is all glass
9
How recyclable is the "entirely new and special grade of stainless steel" they used, I wonder...
I know. When I was a kid, I'd take favoured toys to bed with me. Now I have one or two in vew as I glaze off to dream land.