Mac case designs: Nirvana achieved?

[Galley]

Some folks complain about the cheese grater design of the Mac Pro. I think it's a work of art. I love design of nearly every Apple product. The MacBook Pro could use a magnetic latch and the "Chiclet" keyboard from the MacBook Air.

[baseballboy828]

I doubt the macbook will be phased out by the air. Apple should keep around one traditional consumer laptop. Many people buy the MacBook as their main computer, and need USB ports, optical drives, etc. Even if they don't necessarily need them, they want them. Some people are resistant to the MBA purely because of its specs. Apple would lose some sales on people who couldn't imagine a computer without a normal set of ports and an optical drive.

[Yuiichi]

I completely agree with BBB here.

The MacBook is their only "consumer" notebook, whereas the MacBook Air is more or less a pro machine. I'm sure a lot of people that buy MacBooks aren't real tech geeks like we are. In this respect, I can see a lot of them being more than a little scared of dropping all of the ports on the side for just 1 USB, 1 mini-DVI, and 1 audio. This is also the same kind of consumer that actually uses optical media quite a bit (I'm guessing) and would not like having to plug in an external USB drive to do so.

I would like to see the MB revved to be a little more like the MBA, but I doubt the two lines will ever merge!

[houltmac]

I wasn't saying that the two lines would merge, at least any time soon. With the other notebook manufacturers hitting the MBA so aggressively I can see the two lines coming close to each other over the next year or two. I can also see the price dropping dramatically. Eventually I think the lines will merge, but for now I agree with both BBB and Yuiichi.

[notabadname]

I think the MBA is a stand-alone product, as compared to an eventual MB replacement. It just gives up to many items to replace the broad-market appeal and value of the MB. Foremost, at the moment, I don't think the majority of users are ready to part with built-in optical. No need to list all the other differences again, but I don't see the mass-appeal yet for the MBA. It is an awesome machine, but for a very special market in my opinion. A market the MB majority would not switch too.

I would get my two kids MB's for school when needed, or if they were older for college. No way would I get the MBA's for them (or Pro's for that matter).

As for shells of Laptops, there are basic form-factors that will continue to dictate a pretty similar "shape" of laptops. You can swap plastic with metal, or maybe a carbon shell (becoming trendy in cars and aviation - light and strong), but even the MBA is a (beautifully) stylized rectangle. Until screens transform to thin film OLEDs that roll out on a spool, probably a decade away in affordability, we will have 12 to 17 inch diameter rectangular screens, and generally rectangular keyboards if we don't shift to iPhone like touch displays. And even with those displays, they will be rectangular, and only eliminate the need for the clamshell screen-keyboard format. Basically, nothing holds a bunch of rectangles better than a rectangle. I see the main change in thickness. Maybe about a 10% thinner laptop will be next. Significant for marketing, but not requiring "specialized" expensive engineering like MBA, and still fitting the optical drive.

[Macattack]

Originally Posted by Yuiichi

I'd echo Phil's statement with the MacBook. However much I love my white MacBook, I'd love to see it get a little sturdier with Aluminum.

I do think that all of the lineup looks better than pretty much any other kind of PC on the market. They're elegant, functional, beautiful, and they also match nicely (except for the MB). That said, I would like to see what else Apple's engineers could do. Since they've made computers I like this much already, who knows what else they could do?

Only time will tell.

I agree. I like the white but it doesn't feel as durable. We put ours in one of these, which protects it really well.



Love this company's stuff.

[AGurlNamedGoo]

I haven't read this thread much but I wanted to put my two cents in about the case designs...

I'd really like to see the MBP look more along the lines of the MBA. I don't care how thick or thin it is, but I like how the MBA curves in and almost comes to a point on the sides. It's sexy. And I even like how the ports pop down from the side... though, I'm not sure how functional that is if you have it on the desk, as I've never tried one out myself.

[houltmac]

The port hatch works fine on the MacBook Air, even on a desk. It's designed not to open lower than the bottom of the machine so it's perfectly usable. My only issue with it was that I had to lift the machine in order to get my fat fingers under it.

[AGurlNamedGoo]

hahaha
Well then, I'd like to see the macbook pro look like the air... just because
but I'm still planning to get the pro, regardless of what it looks like.

In terms of not having ports... I don't love the idea. Maybe I fit into that not-a-real-tech-geek category... but I just like having the ability to plug something in if necessary. But mac seems to solve this by creating adapters. I'd just like to see one more port on there... probably a second USB.
But really my main gripe with the mba is of course the lack of optical drive. It's nice that they can download programs from other machines, but I don't like the idea of having to carry my optical drive around separately. On the bright side, it would make it easier to replace, should it ever break... but then again, as a separate item, it's more likely to get broken. It'd be cool if it were an option to have it built in, even though it'd make it heavier. But I'm sure they can't build it in 'cause of size.

To notabadname (I'm sorry - idk your real name!) - why wouldn't you get your kids Pros? Just 'cause of the price?
(I'm in the market hehe)

[studyolic]

Just a thought. Why did Apple abandon the titanium case from the G4 Ti-book? I assume it was probably cost, and perhaps political correctness asserting itself in that aluminium is more recycle-friendly than Ti. Maybe also heat dispersion issues. But I wondered about Apple shifting the MB to alu (black or white) and moving the MBP up-market with Ti cases?