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Apple Exploring Carbon-Fiber Enclosures for Future Devices
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Nice mockup but this wouldn't have a DVD drive or a backlit keyboard. Also, I do not like the color and the screen is glossy. Gawd!!!
Carbon Fiber would be a nightmare for Apples Environmental Check-list. From what I've read:
Once the Carbon Fiber clothes are soaked or saturated with resin, it's basically non-biodegradable. But it seems like the auto industry is looking into a way to actually recycle this stuff.... taking old carbon fiber pieces like from planes and other crafts that utilize Carbon Fiber... and shredding them into reusable material.
Here's some good info:
"Ten years ago, carbon fiber cost $150 a pound. Now, the price is around $10 a pound. Steel, on the other hand, costs less than a dollar per pound. Many analysts say that for carbon fiber to make it into widespread use in cars, the price will have to drop to about $5 per pound."
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-economy/carbon-fiber-oil-crisis2.htm
I cant imagine Apple changing their design aesthetics that dramatically. Going from aluminum to carbon fibre, just like that will be very strange.
Imagine walking into an Apple store right now and instead of the silver aluminum macbooks sitting on their light wooden tables and against their aluminum panelled walls... there are these BLACK laptops.
They're gonna have to change their retail store look as well if they are going for a carbon fibre look from now on. hahaha... Carbon Fibre panelled walls and dark wood mahogany tables... that will accent the carbon fibre macbook pros pretty nice
Imagine walking into an Apple store right now and instead of the silver aluminum macbooks sitting on their light wooden tables and against their aluminum panelled walls... there are these BLACK laptops.
They're gonna have to change their retail store look as well if they are going for a carbon fibre look from now on. hahaha... Carbon Fibre panelled walls and dark wood mahogany tables... that will accent the carbon fibre macbook pros pretty nice
COmposite materials? Maybe, but carbon fibre? I really doubt it. To go from touting the recyclability of the materials used to create their current products to switching to a material that is notoriously difficult to recycle doesn't make any sense. Some research is going into natural fibre composites, but I really don't see what's wrong with aluminium and how composites would really give many significant benefits. Saving 15% off the weight of a car gives the car better performance and better fuel efficiency, both major selling points for a vehicle. Saving 15% off the weight of a computer would give you a 15% lighter computer, making it slightly easier to lug around, but nothing else. I'd say that while people buying a laptop do look at the weight, they'll pay much more attention to performance and features.
I think thats a bit dark for Apple. The only black Macs they've had are the black MacBook and the black powermac.
Maybe Apple is going towards the "DARK SIDE"
They recently changed their website menu bar to Liquid Metal Black:
Agreed. Sony had the vaio x that was partially made out of carbon fiber, 11" 1.5 lb. The 11" MBA is 2.3. If Apple wants to cut on weight, liquid metal is the way, especially since they are the only one who can use it in consumer electronics. The thing has a yield strength 25 times higher than aluminium
. Injectable and recyclable. Price will be the main factor for liquidmetal, it's made primarily of zirconium, which isn't cheap.Maybe Apple is going towards the "DARK SIDE"
They recently changed their website menu bar to Liquid Metal Black:
![globalsearch_bg.png]()
Looks like the top of a quick look window, it's not a new UI element or look.
There is a new method of producing carbon fiber called "chopped carbon fiber." It might make sense for Apple to use something like this as opposed to woven carbon fiber, which is very expensive to manufacture.
http://wot.motortrend.com/lamborghi...fiber-suspension-parts-future-cars-37577.html
http://wot.motortrend.com/lamborghi...fiber-suspension-parts-future-cars-37577.html
NO!
Sorry but I love the metal feel. I can understand the alure of this and I would even welcome it on say the iPhone or iPad but I for one am not ready to think a plastic looking laptop looks better than metal, nope not me.
I don't want another plastic looking computer or phone, juck.
Sorry but I love the metal feel. I can understand the alure of this and I would even welcome it on say the iPhone or iPad but I for one am not ready to think a plastic looking laptop looks better than metal, nope not me.
I don't want another plastic looking computer or phone, juck.
Agreed. Sony had the vaio x that was partially made out of carbon fiber, 11" 1.5 lb. The 11" MBA is 2.3. If Apple wants to cut on weight, liquid metal is the way, especially since they are the only one who can use it in consumer electronics. The thing has a yield strength 25 times higher than aluminium
Not cheap for most but knowing apple they can create the demand that will push the price down just look at screens. also they do have a good price point where they are not competing for the bottom of the barrel prices so I can see them making it work.
Liquid metal is where the future is for apple, please!
I think most consumers do not know carbon because they never had something like a racing bicycle made of it.
Many people will think apple has made the product worse or is just trying to safe costs when they see a carbon MacBook for the first time because they think it is "plastic" and not something high tech.
Christian
Many people will think apple has made the product worse or is just trying to safe costs when they see a carbon MacBook for the first time because they think it is "plastic" and not something high tech.
Christian
It differs. I had one of the last white G3 iBooks, I think it was 800 MHz.
This was good looking (a transparent layer on the white shell) IMHO and while it scratched easily it lasted very long and I think the case was very durable. Ok, many of them had faulty logic boards, but that is a different story...
Several years later I hat one of the first white MacBooks. I had the infamous "case discoloration" and later there was a crack while nothing serious had happened to the notebook. The look and feel of the case was so "cheap" IMHO, it makes me wonder why they still produce plastic MacBooks at all.Now I have a MBA that looks and feels so much better.
Christian
What about thermal conductivity ? One thing I love about my MBP (2008) is that the body itself is one big heatsink, which means the fan is small and quiet compared to other (plastic-bodied) brands, when it has to be used at all. Personally to only time I even hear it working is when I'm converting a movie from lagarith to divx in Virtualdub. AFAIK carbon fibre isn't as thermally conductive as metal.......??
I forgot about the iBooks (slightly before my laptop buying days). Those were pretty solid feeling. Only down side to that design was all the work you had to do to change the hard drive.