“Mac enthusiasts have been transfixed lately by the mystery product, code-named ‘brick,’ that’s due for release later this month,” Arik Hesseldahl reports for BusinessWeek.
“Some bloggers and pundits have suggested it might be a new iteration of Apple TV or an updated Mac Mini. But according to a report on 9to5Mac.com, ‘brick’ refers not to what it is, but how it’s made. The Web site, which cites an anonymous source, says the code name has to do with a manufacturing process for Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro lines of laptops. Apple will build the notebook out of a single piece of carved-out aluminum—a brick,” Hesseldahl reports.
Hesseldahl reports, “There could also be savings from the change, says Kevin Keller, an analyst at market research firm iSuppli. ‘If you’re working with one single unit of metal, you’re reducing a lot of the materials costs and also a lot of labor time on assembly,’ he says.”
“Using a single piece of metal would also provide the opportunity for the kind of design flourishes that distinguish Apple and its chief executive, Steve Jobs. Screws might be minimized or eliminated entirely. Seams joining different pieces of metal would disappear. In short, these notebooks would be unlike anything else on the market in appearance and design,” Hesseldahl reports.
Full article here.
Like a brick through a window, let it begin!
Is it possible that Apple has built themselves a couple key assembly plants complete with robots akin to Steve’s NeXT plant some years ago?
That’s BS.
There’s no way Apple could mill aluminum blocks of the size necessary to make a laptop and keep the price low… unless they’re using prison labor.
Maybe this means that OJ will finally get a real job!
If it’s true (which I thoroughly doubt), then it sounds like Steve’s ego is back where it was about 20 years ago. All in all it doesn’t make any sense, it sounds like a complete red herring…
iRobot
I think it’s metaphor, brick that will smash the Windows
To whom it may concern:
New review out for the Zune on CNN. Here is the last section.
Zune vs. iPod
The Zune still has a hard road ahead if it wants to catch up to the iPod. Microsoft is doing an admirable job, however, of carving out a niche of music fanatics who value the Zune’s emphasis on music discovery and subscription-music gluttony. When it comes to high-capacity MP3 players, Apple and Microsoft are the two best options available, offering comparable features, file support, and audio quality.
But, unless you have a grudge against Apple or are tempted by the Zune’s subscription-music service, the iPod’s superior battery life and accessory options make it a better option for most users. E-mail to a friend | Mixx it | Share
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@Rob:
“I think it’s metaphor, brick that will smash the Windows”
I agree. The brick will be the beginning of the end for Windows PCs.
Buy AAPL today!
I don’t care what they release I just need to buy two. Hurry up 10-14
I have seen no announcement from Apple that they are having any kind of event in October. If it were on the 14th, they should have announced a mystery event on that date by now.
So what backs up all the rumors that anything at all is coming out this month?
Maybe it’s a 2x sized iPod Touch with more software features and bluetooth.
“Hurry up 10-14”
Is 10-14 a reference to “Suspicious Person/Report of Prowler”, the Exodus passage, “The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous,” or a prophetic vision of Semphyra the asteroid?
…”unless they’re using prison labor”
The whole point about the ‘carved’ Macbook is that it wouldn’t be touched by human hands – making it much much cheaper to make – once the setup costs have been taken care of of course.
Who’s to say this isn’t what Apple’s $20bn fund is for..?
I hope this isn’t true – Mac notebooks are already hard enough to get inside of for service as it is.
Everyone sounds like they have their credit card in their pocket, their car keys in hand, and the car idling in the driveway, waiting for the signal to dash to the Apple Store, where they imagine that Steve Jobs will break open a pinata, reigning down on us every conceivable computer model. I’m impatient too. However, there isn’t the slightest sign that Santa Jobs’ sleigh has landed on the roof or that anyone is coming down the chimney—on October 14 or any other day.
So I repeat my question: Aside from Nostradamus, what evidence is there that anything is happening this month? If someone has real evidence, I’d really like to hear it.
“unless they’re using prison labor”
Maybe he meant WALL•E.
Actually the auto industry as used 100% automated C and C mills to make engine blocks and heads for a long time now. Apple using a few automated C and C Mills to produce laptops cases is not that far out there. And if Apple were using a production facility that already had a few C and C Mill lines sitting idol the cost is to mill an aluminum case compared to stamping and assembly is plausible.
But, if I were jobs and I was going to mill a cases for a product it would not be Mac Books or Mac Book Pros. It would be a product that did not require the attachment of a flip-up screen. It would be a one piece, Multi-Touch device made with a milled aluminum case for added strength and a higher kewl factor. It would also be a product that while drawing lot of attention and huge amounts of free press, to drive gawkers to the Apple Stores, it would be one I wouldn’t be planning on selling iPod Numbers worth. Think Ti Book it was the laptop Apple used to transition Pro Users from plastic to Metal cases with thinner sleeking designs. Everyone said Apple couldn’t make a case from Titanium and they always listed the reasons, Heat, expense, manufacturing costs (they didn’t sell iPod numbers of them)…. everyone said Apple would go back to plastic, resin, or poly-carbon when the TI Book’s run was over. Apple’s Pro Laptop line when from a Titanium cases to an Aluminum and it’s unlikely to alter that basic overall design of the Mac Book Pro in the near.
A totally new product in an innovative solid milled aluminum case is much much more plausible. Kind of like a giant Ipod touch but in the form factor, weight and size of a Macbook Air.
Quote from iMac Design Page at Apple.com:
With iMac, details make all the difference. For example, because it’s made from a single sheet of aluminum, you won’t see any seams or screws except for a single compartment on the bottom that provides easy access to the memory slots.
how would they get all the ram,logic board, cd drive etc into the actual machine if it was carved out of a brick? Plus that would make it very hard to expand and you would have a hard time replacing the battery if they want to get rid of all the screws.