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Aluminium vs Plastic

CalBoy said:
Yeah, the macbook edge is sharp, but you really shouldn't be typing that way anyways. When you type, your wrists should be suspended above the keyboard area. Trust me, not only will you avoid that emo look :)p) you'll also be able to type faster. :)
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Utter Bollocks!!....i am sick of people telling me how i shoulden't be typing the way i am sat now it is just not practical to "suspend" my wrists above the keyboard area..........ffs.....
 
Buy a refurb macbook.

I bought my blackbook brandnew and over all I am very happy with it, besides the minor cracking(which i have fixed on my own now), and battery issues.
 
i was also awaiting the new macbooks hoping for some nice aluminium casing in the update. it wasn't to be but it's not all that bad. now at least it matches my white 5G ipod
 
cogsinister said:
Utter Bollocks!!....i am sick of people telling me how i shoulden't be typing the way i am sat now it is just not practical to "suspend" my wrists above the keyboard area..........ffs.....
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Ok...I'm not really going to bother with this, but that is the correct typing posture. You can type the other way if you want to, but it's not recommended. Just like how you can drive a car while texting, shaving, and reading the paper. It's possible. Doesn't mean it's what you should do. ;)

ashjamben said:
i was also awaiting the new macbooks hoping for some nice aluminium casing in the update. it wasn't to be but it's not all that bad. now at least it matches my white 5G ipod
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I know a lot of you macbook-wanters were waiting for that aluminum finish, but I don't see it happening for some time. I think we have a while to go before we see the macbook redesigned in any meaningful way (excluding the possibility of a potential sub-notebook that is-but that would more likely be a pro series).
 
Mad Mac Maniac said:
How did you fix them on your own? Also, what are the battery issues? Just bad life?
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silicone glue and a utility knife you canse see the crack with the naked eye(I didn't let it come off their so that helped).

There was a battery firmware issue laster year and it killed my battery(coreduo macbooks have a two year battery extension btw)
 
I know a lot of you macbook-wanters were waiting for that aluminum finish, but I don't see it happening for some time. I think we have a while to go before we see the macbook redesigned in any meaningful way (excluding the possibility of a potential sub-notebook that is-but that would more likely be a pro series).
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Exactly, Apple likes to distinguish the pro and consumer models.. and right now that is how it is done...

but then again, why did the iMac go aluminum?

ponderous...:confused:
 
paul.b.davis said:
Exactly, Apple likes to distinguish the pro and consumer models.. and right now that is how it is done...

but then again, why did the iMac go aluminum?

ponderous...:confused:
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It is strange. Perhaps the goal isn't to create a theme for all the lines; the designer might have simply thought that the iMac was looking tired. There doesn't have to be a coherent theme to Apple's products. As long as we know what an iMac looks like, what a macbook looks like, what a Mac Pro looks like, etc, the individual products need only one guiding principle: they must be attractive. So far as I can tell, none of Apple's products is unattractive. Thus, the current designs are doing what they were intended to do.

PS: I like being quoted, but I also like to be cited;):p JK:D
 
CalBoy said:
It is strange. Perhaps the goal isn't to create a theme for all the lines; the designer might have simply thought that the iMac was looking tired. There doesn't have to be a coherent theme to Apple's products. As long as we know what an iMac looks like, what a macbook looks like, what a Mac Pro looks like, etc, the individual products need only one guiding principle: they must be attractive. So far as I can tell, none of Apple's products is unattractive. Thus, the current designs are doing what they were intended to do.

PS: I like being quoted, but I also like to be cited;):p JK:D
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What I was meaning by all that was that if the MB went aluminum, then it would be hard to distinguish it from the MBP. The iMac is already very distinguishable from the Mac Pro, for obvious reasons.

But making the MB aluminum would blur the lies too much. The only way (to me) to have all Mac laptops be aluminum would to be having only one product line, with about 6 or 7 different options.

I know this will never happen, and I am not wishing it did, but it does not seem likely that the consumer laptop line will be aluminum unless this happens (or if they started making to pro line out of something different)
 
paul.b.davis said:
What I was meaning by all that was that if the MB went aluminum, then it would be hard to distinguish it from the MBP. The iMac is already very distinguishable from the Mac Pro, for obvious reasons.

But making the MB aluminum would blur the lies too much. The only way (to me) to have all Mac laptops be aluminum would to be having only one product line, with about 6 or 7 different options.

I know this will never happen, and I am not wishing it did, but it does not seem likely that the consumer laptop line will be aluminum unless this happens (or if they started making to pro line out of something different)
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Yeah that's all true.

Personally, I think that the plastic is a good way to distinguish between the "pro" and "consumer" series. My only gripe with it is that consumers don't have a 15" laptop (as this is popular with home users who only want portability occasionally). Would it really be that hard to roll out a 15" consumer notebook and a pro series "sub" notebook?
 
Aluminum does not have benefits, outside of aesthetic value.

My current workstation is a MacBook Pro and while I have no problems with it, I certainly know the polycarbonate (plastic) is superior for portability's sake.

Aluminum is a soft metal: if you hit a wall with, drop, or otherwise bang a PowerBook/MacBook Pro, you can be damn sure it will dent. Polycarbonate, on the other hand, will likely remain undamaged. Sure, plastic can crack under extreme force, but you're much more likely to sustain physical damage with aluminum.

Aluminum conducts heat a lot better than plastic. The result? Burned laps. MacBooks don't get anywhere near as hot as MacBook Pros -- similarly, iBooks were much much cooler to the touch than PowerBooks.

Not everything about aluminum is bad: it's nicer looking and weighs less. If your laptop virtually never leaves your desk: prefer aluminum. If you actually take your computer with you on a daily basis: prefer plastic.
 
admiraldennis said:
Aluminum does not have benefits, outside of aesthetic value.
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I beg to differ. Aluminum has major weight-saving advantages.

I certainly know the polycarbonate (plastic) is superior for a laptop case.
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I'm glad that polycarbonate works well for you. I'm also glad that aluminum works well for me. I think you should remember that you can't speak for all users ;) :)

Aluminum is a soft metal: if you hit a wall with, drop, or otherwise bang a PowerBook/MacBook Pro, you can be damn sure it will dent. Polycarbonate, on the other hand, will likely remain undamaged. Sure, plastic can crack under extreme force, but you're much more likely to sustain physical damage with aluminum.
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No question. The aluminum is more fragile in this sense. However, with the other innovations Apple has rolled out, the chances of a mbp falling or coming to some great calamity have been reduced (I'm referring heavily to the Magsafe o/c).

I think that a macbook would also sustain some damage if it were to take a great fall. In fact, most notebooks can only be treated one way: like they're Humpty Dumpty.

Aluminum conducts heat a lot better than plastic. The result? Burned laps. MacBooks don't get anywhere near as hot as MacBook Pros -- similarly, iBooks were much much cooler to the touch than PowerBooks.
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Again, the macbook can get very hot after a while. Because the plastic is a poorer conductor of heat, it stays hot for longer. After any reasonable amount of time, both will burn your lap. When I used macbooks for an hour or more in our lab, I found them to be very, very hot underneath. I have yet to have my mbp get that hot, even though I use it much more extensively.

The aluminum also provides an advantage for the internals of your notebook. Because the aluminum cools and heats faster, the heat from your core will move out faster. With polycarbonate, it will take longer. Just some food for thought.
 
Magsafe is as good an example as any. In many years of using notebooks, in my case I've never come across a situation where I've tripped over the power cord and caused a laptop to crash down to the ground. I'm sure it has for some of you, but I'd say most people are careful. And besides, I usually plug the network cable in, firewire, etc. No magsafe for that = still chance of laptop thudding to ground (and dragging other stuff with it). But it's never happened for me.

On the other hand, I've had problems with plugging in or engaging a power cable about once or twice I think in my entire history of using notebooks - until I hit the Macbook/Pros. This is the problem with Apple's engineering as I've woken up to; it's mostly for the eye and a design-feel-good factor, and little of it makes an actual practical difference once you screw your head back on and in some cases can be something of a retrograde step because of their (lack of) build quality in relation to the ambition of the design. Additional design-feel-good-factor is a desirable attribute, but not without the engineering and the build quality to back it up.

Far more prevalent for me have been dropping or otherwise stressing machines while moving them around. And structurally, the MBP is a blancmange in comparison to quality machines. However as I said I don't know how Apple have improved the (completely unacceptable to me at the time) Macbooks - but if what I remember of the Macbooks last year is how they do plastic, then I would definitely take aluminium, as relatively crappy the execution might also be on the Macbook Pro. Indeed this is what I have done, and keep doing, since last year.
 
dynamicv said:
My four and a half year old Alu PowerBook has no dents, and only one scratch on the lid. What the Hell are you lot doing to your MBPs? :eek:
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That's exactly what I've been wondering lately. I had a scratch-free 1.25GHz AlBook (the first generation) for 4 years and when I sold it to my friend he instantly managed to scratch it during the first week he owned the thing. I guess some of us just have been grown to be more careful...
 
I do appreciate that for some people it is a prized possession and is babied all the time.

For me, it's a working tool and a dent or other readily visible visual damage is bad for my 'techno-image', and having to be careful with it in order to keep it operational also detracts from the usability of it. It's not as if I'm asking for a ruggedised machine. I use other notebooks which withstand everyday events better than the MBP. The fact of the matter is that I can't treat a Macbook Pro as I do my 'premium' notebooks. I daresay that if Apple has fixed some of the problem with the Macbook casing, it might well be a better candidate for everyday use.
 
Sesshi said:
Magsafe is as good an example as any. In many years of using notebooks, in my case I've never come across a situation where I've tripped over the power cord and caused a laptop to crash down to the ground. .
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Totally agree!!!!! Steve Jobs is always making a hype out of such a small thing .
 
skyrider007 said:
Totally agree!!!!! Steve Jobs is always making a hype out of such a small thing .
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let's not forget, a feature non-useful for some may be great for others

sure it may not ever be useful at home, but for some (like myself) who take their laptop almost everywhere, it can be useful

my old PB G4 (before the mag safe was introduced) almost had a nasty spill due to someone tripping over the cord while I was in the library once (that was before the battery recall and it only got about 30 minutes of charge)

but of course now that I have my MBP, nobody has tripped over the cord, but I am not ruling out that it may happen
 
skyrider007 said:
Totally agree!!!!! Steve Jobs is always making a hype out of such a small thing .
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Just because it has never happened doesn't mean that it can't happen. Do you also scoff at your seatbelt, because you have never needed to be restrained in your car? Sneer at the Sudden Motion Sensor because you have never jostled or bumped your laptop severely? Shrug off your umbrella because you have never experienced rain?

I like the MagSafe (they absolutely need to work on the fraying issue though). I can blind plug it in absolute darkness with minimal effort, unplugging is easy, and do not have worry about ill consequences if someone were to trip over it.

Also, generally, if I my laptop up on a table or desk, the power cord is the only thing likely to going off the table. Any USB or other devices would be on the table with teh laptop.
 
scratches already!

Well, for what it's worth, I'm a recent mac convert after being an exclusive windows user for most of my life. So far I love everything about my Macbook Pro except for the fact that it scratches soooooo easily. Being as I'm a relatively poor college student and spent $3000 on this machine (including some software), I've really tried taking good care of it. I bought a backpack which has a special laptop pocket which is padded and bought a marware palm protector.

To my surprise, after owning my MBP for about three months (as of today) it's got obvious scratches on all four corners and a nice scratch of some sort in the middle of the screen (maybe from rubbing on the keyboard keys? but how can that be when I cover the keys with a marware screen protector?).

The really strange thing is that I have a co-worker who also has an MBP which is about a year old. His MBP doesn't have any scratches to speak of, and he--like me--tries to take care of his MBP as well as he can.

So I'm a little curious if perhaps Apple changed something in the coatings process (or whatever). It just seems totally off to me that I try to take care of mine and it's still scratching as much as it is within three months vs. my co-worker's which has no (or very very minute) scratches.

I've even thought about taking it into the campus bookstore (where I bought it and asking them if it's normal to have this much scratching so soon).

In short...

PROS: Love how the mac operates: it's software and operating system; it's speed, how quiet it is, how intuitive it all works.

CONS:
*LOATHE how easily it scratches (screen and casing on the four corners).
*Not a fan of how much software (shareware or not) costs for the mac. You'll find that the most basic, simplistic, todo list app costs $30.


Anyone know if these recent generation MBPs tend to scratch abnormally easily?
 
Interesting. I had no idea the MBPs were this fragile, nor that the MBs were likely to last longer. This is encouraging for people looking into buying Macbooks.
 
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