Apple orders aluminum 13-inch MacBook shells, 3G iPhone chips

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  • Reply 141 of 149
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    Hi Melgross;



    It is obvious from this post that you have done a bit of anodizing but one thing comes up with respect to things like covers on an iPhone. That issue is the thickness of the base material, would you not run the risk of making thin materials brittle if attempting to anodizing the part heavily?



    This is just anecdotal but when working with thin anodized pats I often find that they have a brittle quality to them. I always thought this was the result of not enough base material being left with respect to the hardened anodized surface.



    Anyways Aluminum does seem to be a fad with Apple so I don't expect it to go away anytime soon. Personally I prefer plastic. Especially something like injection molded Ultem.



    Dave



    Absolutely!



    It's interesting that honeycomb floors are used in airplanes because of strength. And anodizing gives us a structure that's almost the same, but lacks the layer on top of the honeycomb for that strength, so it is brittle.



    I keep telling people here that anodizing isn't impervious to scratches, and it's true. It's rubbing where it stands out in durability, though, even that will win in the end.



    The far softer aluminum under the surface gives easily under pressure. As even hard anodizing is only about 0.001" thick, and the structure is also mostly hollow, the weak substrate, deforms, allowing the anodized surface to crack along the stress line. I've seen, under my microscope, invisible to the eye, cracks.



    Thin aluminum under the anodized surface must be designed so that there is a certain amount of flex allowed, but not too much.



    If not enough is available, then the surface cracks from pressure. If too much is available, then the surface crumbles when bent.



    It's, ahem, a fine line between too much and too little.
  • Reply 142 of 149
    mbmcavoymbmcavoy Posts: 157member
    Is there a good date prediction for this? Is this likely at the June WWDC, or sometime later this year?



    I'm planning to pick up a MacBook somewhat soon as my first Mac. I'm tired of XP, avoiding Vista, and Ubuntu isn't quite er, "done" yet. (It's quite good, but inconsistent. on the UI and function.)



    While I think the current MacBook is fine, it would be good to catch a major update. Colored anodized aluminum could be quite nice, too...
  • Reply 143 of 149
    marcusmarcus Posts: 227member
    As I said before, in this thread, I too think it is time for a change in a lot of ways. I've bought and used most of the Apple Laptops for the last 15 years or so, and think that the current MBP's have got a stage where they feel stagnant. All my last 4 machines have effectively been the exact same casing with a few tweaks inside (I know I know, there has been extensive redesign of the internal space of the machine, I used to be a tech, but I am talking about other fundamentals).



    Ok, so what do I want to see change and why?



    Casing material



    Yes it is an excellent conductor of heat... right on to my legs if I keep it on my lap, to the point of it becoming unbearable to use on a couch or comfy chair. Not an issues with my g/f's Macbook.



    The finish is *awful* after hard use. My last 2 MBPs have looked like dog's dinners after 18 months. I have dings, scratches and paint coming off on most areas of the machine, as well as a warped bottom case. The flex in the machine is also a nightmare. After 12 months or so, there is significant flex across the whole thing, and I dread packing it in overhead lockers on airplanes and such. (A colleague put his MBP in a sleeve, in a good case designed for a MBP, and at the end of is flight, the screen section was hugely warped to the point white areas appeared on the screen due to pressure from the back.



    Airport reception is plain awful with the Alu. Yes they changed the location of the antenna to under the screen which helped, but atm, the range falls *far* behind it's competitors.



    keyboard



    Yes, for a long time, the Powerbook/MBP keyboard was the best out there... no complaints. Until a few things happened...



    All the paint comes off the keys!! atm on my work MBP, the backlighting on the 'a' 's' 'd' 'w' (err yes I do game from time to time) 'return' and 'apple' keys has all taken significant damage... with 3 of the keys showing a lovely backlit whole key, and not the letter!



    The Macbook keyboard. This is **so** much better! Having seen the MBA, it can be backlit, and I think would be a real upgrade to the current MBP one. (yes I know there are backlighting issues on the MBA one, but i am sure they could be fixed.



    Lastly, on the last 3 MBPs I have owned, the paint on the areas surrounding the keyboard has at first darkened, and then come off! This needs a whole top case replacement to fix, which is just not worth it time and cost wise. *not* a great design.



    Screen



    The quality on the LCDs over time has been awful! Uneven backlighting, terrible colour representation without severe calibration etc This may have been fixed with the new LED ones, but it needs to be looked at.



    Magsafe



    They *so* need to redesign this! I am on my 4th with the current machine... they need to sort out the connection between the flex and the end of the Magsafe, as for road users, and ppl who travel, I have seen *tons* of people with issues. (Apple very kindly and swiftly replaced all mine so far, but I am still out of pocket from having to buy new ones when unable to contact Applecare!)



    Lastly...



    Price



    At the moment, with the Euro 'tax', I am struggling to see any point as to buy another MBP when this one expires... other than OS X which is hands down the best OS. I am a devoted Mac user, with 1000's invested in software, screens, iPods, you name it, but for the price, and with the faults, imho the MBP and MB are lacking. For example:



    Dell Vostro 1500

    2.4ghz C2D

    4 Gig RAM

    250Gig HDD

    8600m GT with 512mb RAM



    All for 610 EURO!



    The cheapest Macbook Pro comes in at 1799 Euro - for the *BASE* model! The Macbook starts at 999 Euro!



    All in all, I really do think it is time for a change for the MBP, a nice update to address the issues above, and maybe switch to cheaper materials which could mean a price drop to make them appear more in line with the competitors...
  • Reply 144 of 149
    stubeckstubeck Posts: 140member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mbmcavoy View Post


    Is there a good date prediction for this? Is this likely at the June WWDC, or sometime later this year?



    I'm planning to pick up a MacBook somewhat soon as my first Mac. I'm tired of XP, avoiding Vista, and Ubuntu isn't quite er, "done" yet. (It's quite good, but inconsistent. on the UI and function.)



    While I think the current MacBook is fine, it would be good to catch a major update. Colored anodized aluminum could be quite nice, too...



    If it follows the last few updates, it will happen in May, but more likely in early June to happen at WWDC for a 3G iphone and new MB.



    I'm in the same boat, I want to get a new MB, but will wait a month for WWDC to happen and for an update to either occur or not occur. I'll probably wait for them to include the free iPod too.
  • Reply 145 of 149
    daveyjjdaveyjj Posts: 120member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marcus View Post




    Price



    At the moment, with the Euro 'tax', I am struggling to see any point as to buy another MBP when this one expires... other than OS X which is hands down the best OS. I am a devoted Mac user, with 1000's invested in software, screens, iPods, you name it, but for the price, and with the faults, imho the MBP and MB are lacking. For example:



    Dell Vostro 1500

    2.4ghz C2D

    4 Gig RAM

    250Gig HDD

    8600m GT with 512mb RAM



    All for 610 EURO!



    You can carry that nearly 7 pound beast? That specific Dell model weight starts at almost 6-1/2 pounds. You strong man! Thanks, I'll pay the extra few hundred and save a few pounds in the process.
  • Reply 146 of 149
    marcusmarcus Posts: 227member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaveyJJ View Post


    You can carry that nearly 7 pound beast? That specific Dell model weight starts at almost 6-1/2 pounds. You strong man! Thanks, I'll pay the extra few hundred and save a few pounds in the process.



    MBP weighs 5.4 pounds approx.



    Vostro 1500 weighs 6.33 Pounds approx.



    Less than a pound in it. Hardly need to go on the bench press machine to deal with the extra weight



    And regardless, it being 3/4 of one pound lighter justify it costing over 1100Euro more?
  • Reply 147 of 149
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marcus View Post


    MBP weighs 5.4 pounds approx.



    Vostro 1500 weighs 6.33 Pounds approx.



    Less than a pound in it. Hardly need to go on the bench press machine to deal with the extra weight



    And regardless, it being 3/4 of one pound lighter justify it costing over 1100Euro more?



    That's a very big difference when carrying it around most of the day.
  • Reply 148 of 149
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marcus View Post


    MBP weighs 5.4 pounds approx.



    Vostro 1500 weighs 6.33 Pounds approx.



    Less than a pound in it. Hardly need to go on the bench press machine to deal with the extra weight



    And regardless, it being 3/4 of one pound lighter justify it costing over 1100Euro more?



    That is 17.22% heavier than the MBP.



    As for your question, the weight alone doesn't justify the expense, There are many other areas of value, too. Like OS, reliability, build quality and even the aesthetics.
  • Reply 149 of 149
    marcusmarcus Posts: 227member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaveyJJ View Post


    You can carry that nearly 7 pound beast? That specific Dell model weight starts at almost 6-1/2 pounds. You strong man! Thanks, I'll pay the extra few hundred and save a few pounds in the process.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    That is 17.22% heavier than the MBP.



    As for your question, the weight alone doesn't justify the expense, There are many other areas of value, too. Like OS, reliability, build quality and even the aesthetics.



    OS yes, no doubt OS X is superior by a long way. Build quality? Not for me (2 logic boards, 5 magsafe, LCD, warped case, paint of keyboard top case and keys etc), and as already said, aesthetically, my 2 work MBPs looks like a dog's dinner after 18 months of usage.



    Yes, I have been a devoted Mac user for 15+ years, but really, it doesn't stack up that well price/quality wise imho.
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