alubooks

I thought the old tibooks were made of pure titanium...

I guess you could probably guess the price from what apple has charged for the tibooks...then adjusting for a 12/17" screen, adjusting the price up and down accordingly.

Pardon me for my ignorance (I like putting my foot in my mouth...)

Ah! Tasty! I'm getting used to the taste of my foot as I type this question out:

Which case is stronger? Aluminum or Titanium? Are they equally strong? I dunno. Anyone? Please? Thanks!

Originally posted by jefhatfield


i think only the 15 inch one is pure titanium while the others are the aluminum ones

mostly, i care what is on the inside of the computer

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Seeing how the old Tibooks only came in 15" you are correct. That is also why they are called TiBooks. Get it, Titanium Books.

Re: Pardon me for my ignorance (I like putting my foot in my mouth...)

Originally posted by GeneR
Ah! Tasty! I'm getting used to the taste of my foot as I type this question out:

Which case is stronger? Aluminum or Titanium? Are they equally strong? I dunno. Anyone? Please? Thanks!

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Titanium, technically, but it is more maleable - it is softer. The new books are made of annonized aluminum and that means they are likely tougher for practical purposes and far more scratch resistant. Airplanes are made out of the stuff. It is really tough and may get rid of heat better. I don't think the shift to aluminum is necessarily for cost cutting. It will make for a more durable case that can distribute heat throughout its body very well and take a serious beating too. I have a friend who knows quite a bit about metals (engineer and dealt with jewelry), and he said that this change would make the new Powerbooks even better in every respect in regards to the case.

Yeah titanium is extremely strong but it is very flexible. Just take a look at a good pair of titanium framed glassess. They're like springs you can crumple them into a little ball and they spring back to there original shape. Aluminum on the other hand is very very rigid. To the point that bicycle and motorcycle engineers have to find ways to get it to give some so it doesn't beat up on the rider. From what I've read the new AlBooks are much more rigid then the TiBooks. You can grab the screen and they seriously resist flexing. The only downfall to aluminum is that when stressed too far it breaks unlike titanium.

Just a final thing. Everything I said above is true but it really depends on the type of alloy they are using. In other words what other metals are mixed with it to get the form of Aluminum or Titanium that they are using.

Originally posted by jefhatfield


even though it is inaccurate, i have heard all of the pro line referred to as tibooks and i don't think albooks or alubooks will stick on the 12 and 17 inch models

tibook and ibook have a ring to them

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How about we just all call them PowerBooks then? Whoa, that's an idea.

Originally posted by jefhatfield


first, bucko, i love your avatar

powerbooks sounds so g3 and passe to me

tibooks sound like the older brother of the ibook...in a cute hello kitty sort of way

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I really need to get a Gif animator. I want to put some style into my Avatars.

Well you may be right about the Powerbook thing so I guess it's time to come up with a new name for the line.

Anybody have some ideas for an all inclusive name for the new line of PowerBooks that includes the AlBooks and the TiBooks.

Originally posted by jefhatfield


ibooks are ibooks

and the powerbooks should be referred to as the platinum line...kind of like the high end credit cards

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I could go with that. Platinum Books. Or PBooks. Wait that doesn't sound too good. How about really really bad ass laptops!!!

Hard anodized aluminum conducts heat amazingly well, it's the material in my Calphalon cookware, and it is durable as all hell and sweet looking . A brushed finish would resist scratches very well, have a soft feel, and hold much less finger oils (fingerprints), not to mention looking badass.

You would not be able to crack the aluminum housing with anything as minor as a drop onto a hard surface, internal damage,... maybe another thing, but the enclosure should be the most durable ever put on a notebook (maybe the iBook could be argued more durable, even though the 12" powerbook has the same rubber-mounted drives and magnesium frame).

Can't wait for mine:

12" 867
60 HD
640 RAM
Superdrive
AE card
AE Base Station
Brenthaven Centerload
hopefully a Bluetooth mouse soon...

Est. Shipping- 2/18/02

Arrrghhhhmmnnph...



gurgle...

The problem with industrial grade (read good) titanium is this: contamination. Russia was/is by far the biggest producer of Titanium in the world (local geology). The problem is, most of it was used for military purposes at some point. Mig fighters entire landing gear assemblies were made of the stuff!!!

Back on track... nuclear contamination. That's right... alot of the Titanium on the open market right now is radioactive. Not to a lethal degree... but more than US laws allow for (virtually nil).

I work for an import company... and we no longer bring anything made of Ti...

Yeah, I heard numerous stories of TiBooks crumpling under very small drops (which land on a corner, for instance). I mean, I'm not going to risk dropping anything I paid that much money for for any distance, but the aluminum should stand up better to those sorts of things because of the rigidity.

One problem I have with the new PowerBooks is that I put one of those cyber3 after-market carrying handles on my 15" PB. I got addicted to carrying handles when I had my clamshell iBook. The new hinge structure, while markedly better than the old TiBook hinges, leaves no place to attach a handle. That handle is one of the things that's allowed me to not perform any accidental drop tests on my PB, in addition to being a great prop to lift up the base for some airflow underneath. I hope somebody comes up with a solution for this. I walk around with my PB too much not to have something like that.

Originally posted by dabirdwell
Hard anodized aluminum conducts heat amazingly well, it's the material in my Calphalon cookware, and it is durable as all hell and sweet looking . A brushed finish would resist scratches very well, have a soft feel, and hold much less finger oils (fingerprints), not to mention looking badass.

You would not be able to crack the aluminum housing with anything as minor as a drop onto a hard surface

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Hard anodized parts are very common in the the motorcycle industry which I am in. I am very familiar with it and must say yes it is very strong. Yes aluminum conducts heat very very well. Some types of aluminum conduct better then others (i.e. sand cast, cold cast, vacuum cast, etc.) though all aluminum conducts better then steel but I don't know about how it compares to titanium or magnesium. Plain and simply though the strength of the new aluminum cases comes down to a few factors how it's cast (vacuum being the strongest due to least amount of air) and how thick it is. Simply put I doubt Apple would make a decission like this unless the benefits outweighed the downfalls.

Originally posted by jefhatfield

powerbooks sounds so g3 and passe to me

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Is it just me or does G5 sound more passe than G3?

Originally posted by yosoyjay


Is it just me or does G5 sound more passe than G3?

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Yeah, it seems to have lost a bit of it's "uumph".

No one will complain when it comes out though!!

MacBandit-

Since you work with aluminium alloy, how hard would it be to colorize these enclosures?

A friend had mentioned that it would be fairly easy to due, and having seen the 12" PB, I think they would look killer!!

Imagine them being offered in their natural color along with for example; copper , metallic blue, emarald green, ruby red, pearl white, etc.

They would be definately classy looking as opposed to the plastic toy looking original color variations.

Lot's of people have been asking if the current iMacs are available in different colors. Even though they don't seem to mind that they are only available in white, I think that this would re-generate even more interest among us Mac users as well as Switchers.

Originally posted by MacQuest
MacBandit-

Since you work with aluminium alloy, how hard would it be to colorize these enclosures?

A friend had mentioned that it would be fairly easy to due, and having seen the 12" PB, I think they would look killer!!

Imagine them being offered in their natural color along with for example; copper , metallic blue, emarald green, ruby red, pearl white, etc.

They would be definately classy looking as opposed to the plastic toy looking original color variations.

Lot's of people have been asking if the current iMacs are available in different colors. Even though they don't seem to mind that they are only available in white, I think that this would re-generate even more interest among us Mac users as well as Switchers.

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I agree that the option of colors should be brought back. Whether you like them or not it sells.

Here's a good example of the color options for anodized aluminum. Anodizing is really cool it give Aluminum a had slick nearly impervious surface.

http://www.fastener-express.com/subcat.asp?0=218

Thanks Bandit.

Man, I can just picture them now.

I would be all over a Black, Copper/Bronze, Blue, or Green anodized PB!!

Here's a better picture of the potential colors.


http://ftmbiz.com/excel/mxrims.htm