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I'm really sick and tired of opportunists stealing these products to make a quick buck. The ultimate result is it costs Apple millions - millions it could be using to build newer, better products for the consumer.

How is this costing Apple millions exactly ? Seems to me it cost Apple nothing at all.
 
Sorry, I wasn't talking about the water bottle for bottled waters. I am talking about the sporting water bottles. If you can snap that, I would love to see it. Please post on YouTube.
You asking me to crush a water sport bottle is pointless because I've already mentioned that you can't crush a polycarbonite MacBook like you can a water bottle and you can't crush an aluminum MacBook Pro like you can an aluminum can.

By the way, I didn't take your original comment about soda cans seriously. They were made from stamping and indeed costs at little as plastic (or even lower).
So then why are you wasting my time?
 
Aluminum cost and trends:
http://www.infomine.com/investment/historicalcharts/showcharts.asp?c=aluminum

The biggest cost would be smelting and mining. Buying in large quantities and using medium grade aluminum would yield a negligible cost difference vs petroleum based polycarbonates.

Bauxite is one of the most common materials. Getting the raw materials for aluminium is no problem at all. The real cost is that aluminium is produced by mixing bauxite with the right chemicals to turn it into something that is kind of fluid, and then using electrolysis to extract the aluminium. By far the biggest part of the cost is the electricity used in the process.

Now Apple buys aluminium in two pound blocks that are exactly the right size to create a MacBook, then removes all the unused bits and is left with a perfect MacBook case and lots of scrapings on the floor. You collect all the scrapings, melt them into new blocks and start all over again. You don't throw away the aluminium; melting it down is much cheaper than using electrolysis to extract it from bauxite in the first place.
 
...worth mentioning?

Some people prefer the look and feel of the white MacBook's(which also have a unibody enclosure) so I didn't really think it was worth mentioning.

You don't think it worth mentioning that a unibody enclosure produced by plastic extrusion costs maybe a tenth of the cost of a machined aluminium unibody enclosure?? Unibody isn't a universal state of being, with one single cost!!

Admit it, you either forgot the cost of aluminium as a material, and the amount of work required, or you simply didn't appreciate what's involved.
 
You don't think it worth mentioning that a unibody enclosure produced by plastic extrusion costs maybe a tenth of the cost of a machined aluminium unibody enclosure?? Unibody isn't a universal state of being, with one single cost!!

Admit it, you either forgot the cost of aluminium as a material, and the amount of work required, or you simply didn't appreciate what's involved.
Do me a favor and read the the entire thread. :rolleyes:
 
Then get the plastic MB or a plastic PC laptop. Don't be so angry, it is not good for your health.

No one is angry. The Al casing has value in that it's a bit more resistant to shock (dents/bends vs cracks) and looks better. However, that doesn't mean that the cost to Apple is more. That's all we're saying. Unless you have a detailed Apple report about the costs of fabrication between both cases, no one can make the claim either costs more or less.
 
No one is angry. The Al casing has value in that it's a bit more resistant to shock (dents/bends vs cracks) and looks better. However, that doesn't mean that the cost to Apple is more. That's all we're saying. Unless you have a detailed Apple report about the costs of fabrication between both cases, no one can make the claim either costs more or less.

Sigh

OK, tell that to the PC makers.
 
So they didn't even turn it on... how do we know that those pictures of the specs weren't just photoshopped in? As far as we know, we don't even know it works... just odd IMO. How is the same company getting these "leaks"?
 
Is Apple planning to up the HD for the 13" MB Pro?

Is Apple planning to up the HD for the 13" MB Pro? I noticed that the "Tech Specs" for the MB Pros does not mention a 250GB drive, although that's the current drive on the low-end 13" MB Pro. Tech Specs only mention 320 or 500 GB drives with options for upgrades. Oversight?? Did the Tech Specs omit mention of the 250GB drive previously?
 

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If Apple only put 2GB RAM standard, I expect them to drop the price further on the MacBook. Nowadays, RAM is one of the things people are most clued up about and if they see the MBP is $100 more expensive and has 4GB RAM along with the design, etc, it will lose sales for the MacBook.
 
Bauxite is one of the most common materials. Getting the raw materials for aluminium is no problem at all. The real cost is that aluminium is produced by mixing bauxite with the right chemicals to turn it into something that is kind of fluid, and then using electrolysis to extract the aluminium. By far the biggest part of the cost is the electricity used in the process.

Now Apple buys aluminium in two pound blocks that are exactly the right size to create a MacBook, then removes all the unused bits and is left with a perfect MacBook case and lots of scrapings on the floor. You collect all the scrapings, melt them into new blocks and start all over again. You don't throw away the aluminium; melting it down is much cheaper than using electrolysis to extract it from bauxite in the first place.
Yes, you save about 90% of the electricity by melting down aluminum versus mining from bauxite.

That's why aluminum recycling is so heavily encouraged.
 
Bauxite is one of the most common materials. Getting the raw materials for aluminium is no problem at all. The real cost is that aluminium is produced by mixing bauxite with the right chemicals to turn it into something that is kind of fluid, and then using electrolysis to extract the aluminium. By far the biggest part of the cost is the electricity used in the process.

Now Apple buys aluminium in two pound blocks that are exactly the right size to create a MacBook, then removes all the unused bits and is left with a perfect MacBook case and lots of scrapings on the floor. You collect all the scrapings, melt them into new blocks and start all over again. You don't throw away the aluminium; melting it down is much cheaper than using electrolysis to extract it from bauxite in the first place.

And does no one realize that aluminum is RECYCLABLE??? Isn't that the main point of Apple using aluminum, glass, mercury and arsenic free materials, LED LCD's, etc. is that there is less e-waste than using all plastic systems? Plus aluminum keeps the system cooler than plastic. I'm surprised that the recent choice in eco-conscious materials is lost on many in the tech world.
 
Is Apple planning to up the HD for the 13" MB Pro? I noticed that the "Tech Specs" for the MB Pros does not mention a 250GB drive, although that's the current drive on the low-end 13" MB Pro. Tech Specs only mention 320 or 500 GB drives with options for upgrades. Oversight?? Did the Tech Specs omit mention of the 250GB drive previously?
I'm sure the tech specs on the Apple web site indicate what Apple marketing intends you to read. If there was no mention of 250GB drives earlier, that's because it was intended that way.

Occam's razor.
 
Steve was last seen water-skiing up a river. "I can't get no satisfaction..."

LOL. I "think" I got that joke, but still a 2nd guess. I like it though.

How many returns can Apple afford now with those that just bought the MBP 13" with the EXACT same spec's save for the 4GB RAM, 3hr improvement of battery life, Metal FW800, SD slot, and finally backlit keyboard? Some customers may just return it under their 30days and get a full refund, claw back $200 - which reduces Apple's revenue significantly in the 1000's if it happens - and use it to purchase another item in stock (shell, sleeve, AppleCare).

This leads me to believe that the 13" MBP will soon (3-4mths tops) get a significant cpu bump to the Core i3/i5 ULV cpu's Intel is about to ship next month and get a slightly better Video Card or the same?!

Apple is REALLY reducing the production costs across the lineup with this. I just hope the Mac Mini with these new specs: base 2.4Ghz C2D 8600 & the 2.83(?) get the 320M. I will definately buy one ~ and give out current one to my daughter. This way my wife & son have the newer Mac Mini, I have the Al_uMB, and daughter has the 2Ghz Mac Mini. the Mac home will finally be complete.

:D
 
Wrong

Nice strawman. They both go through the same unibody manufacturing process, aluminum does not cost more than polycarbonite-plastic.

There's no such thing as a "unibody manufacturing process" as applied to both aluminium AND polycarbonate.

It's possible to mould polycarbonate, where as the aluminium is machined.

Further, the cost of polycarbonate pellets is much much less than solid blocks of hi grade aluminium. The real cost in polycarbonate moulding is in the one-off cost of producing the high pressure mould.



The fact is that it DOESN'T cost more to make the MacBook Pro. Just because it's more expensive doesn't mean it's more expensive to make. The black MacBook was more expensive than the white one, does that mean it costs more to manufacture? No.

See my reply above. You're wrong. It is approximately ten times as expensive to machine aluminium as it is to mould polycarbonate.
 
If Apple only put 2GB RAM standard, I expect them to drop the price further on the MacBook. Nowadays, RAM is one of the things people are most clued up about and if they see the MBP is $100 more expensive and has 4GB RAM along with the design, etc, it will lose sales for the MacBook.

MBP is 200$ more... Many people are fine with 2GB and 200$ is 20% more. RAM is also pretty expensive atm so it's not a surprise.
 
See my reply above. You're wrong. It is approximately ten times as expensive to machine aluminium as it is to mould polycarbonate.
Show me proof of how a recyclable material that Apple can constantly re-use somehow costs more to make than the polycarbonate model.

And again, read through the entire thread or don't waste my time.
 
Come Apple! Get over 5400 RPM HDD's, I mean really:rolleyes:, and 2GB of RAM:(, it's a pass

Totally agree with this. Apple has an absolute obsession of crippling its products to lower the bottom line. Even when another $5-$10 would get you a 7200RPM drive.

Cue the Back to the Future Song...

The MacBook from 2.5 years ago had a 2.4 GHz Core2Duo in it. Talk about standing still.

Heh, that's pretty sad. Newer gen of processors, to be sure, but it's still C2D.

Talk about a silent update. I prefer the plastic Macbooks to the aluminium ones.

Not that I'm fond too of solid petroleum or solid electricity.

Echo that sentiment. The plastic seems a lot nicer to hold than the aluminum, and less sharp edges. Seems "softer", almost.
 
And does no one realize that aluminum is RECYCLABLE??? Isn't that the main point of Apple using aluminum, glass, mercury and arsenic free materials, LED LCD's, etc. is that there is less e-waste than using all plastic systems? Plus aluminum keeps the system cooler than plastic. I'm surprised that the recent choice in eco-conscious materials is lost on many in the tech world.

You would think right?
 
No one argued it was. The argument was over the COST of each process/material combo and miles has been saying without any proof or facts that the Aluminium unibody case is more expensive to produce.

There is no argument. You're just completely wrong.

The cost of heating and pressure moulding polycarbonate pellets in a precision mould is a lot cheaper than machining solid lumps of aluminium. Period. Get over it and move on.
 
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