Apple introducing new manufacturing process, MacBook 'Brick'?

The Apple rumor mill has really cooked up a doozy this time. According to 9to5mac -- a site with a fairly good track record -- Apple's next big thing isn't just a laptop or an iPod... it's an entirely new manufacturing process. If you believe the site's sources, an as-yet-unannounced event on October 14th will herald in a new iteration of the MacBook dubbed the "Brick," but the big news won't actually be about the laptop. Apparently, Apple has created a brand-new process to sculpt casings for products out of aircraft-grade aluminum, using a system that carves the pieces out of a single block of metal using "3D lasers" and water-jet cutting. The new technique will supposedly allow for seamless components which require no bending or folding, won't use screws to join together, are ultra-light but also "super strong," and will enable the company to rapidly prototype and produce new designs. Of course, not a single word of this is confirmed or even acknowledged by Apple, though we have been hearing whispers of the "Brick" for a few weeks now. Ultimately, everyone should approach this news with extreme skepticism, but if these rumors get magically transmuted into reality, there's no telling what kind of new gear Apple might have up its sleeve.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[DrWatson @ Oct 5th 2008 3:09PM]

Hopefully they'll be able to finally "sculpt" a Delete *and* a Backspace keys, and a decent mouse with more than one button.

[Nathan @ Oct 5th 2008 3:20PM]

a) Backspace = Fn+Delete. I can't think of another key I would want to lose in its place. b) Press two fingers on the trackpad then press the button. Much better than a second mouse button as you get a larger primary button.

But yeh nice try.

[agiovanni05 @ Oct 5th 2008 3:26PM]

yeah... not to mention you can just tap the trackpad with two fingers and that's it. The multi-touch track pad is the best built-in laptop mouse I've every used, personally. The might mouse itself, I admit isn't the greatest mouse in the world, but for those ignorant to the face, the might-mouse is a 4 button mouse + scroll ball, it's not only one button.

[AnyKey @ Oct 5th 2008 3:36PM]

I thought that wasn't a legitimate gripe about macs anymore...
Agiovanni05 is right, the multitouch on the trackpad makes it really easy to right-click, not to mention the two-fingered scrolling. The mighty mouse (or whatever it's called) is actually quite versatile; I have mine set up so that I can do left right and middle clicking, not to mention squeezing the side button to trigger expose.

[Michael @ Oct 5th 2008 3:40PM]

"Hopefully they'll be able to finally "sculpt" a Delete *and* a Backspace keys, and a decent mouse with more than one button."

RIght click = Tap the trackpad with 2 fingers
Mightymouse = it can be configured to have right and left click... You must drink too much Windows kool-aid

Oh yeah, Apple keyboard has DELETE and BACKSPACE button ZOMG!!!!!

[jo Jo the Dancer @ Oct 5th 2008 3:46PM]

yeah i need 2 buttoned mouse with my laptop too

[Greg @ Oct 5th 2008 3:50PM]

It's fun to see fanboyism go both ways.

[Nobody @ Oct 5th 2008 3:56PM]

Hum... Didn't you know that the "Mighty Mouse" actually had a right-click ? According to apple.com : "Touch-sensitive technology under Mighty Mouse’s seamless top shell detect where you’re clicking, transforming your sleek, one-button mouse into a two-button wonder."

[Luigi193 @ Oct 5th 2008 3:53PM]

Yeah, I really don't want a two button track-pad. I find it much more useful to two finger click!

BUT I NEVER use apple's mouse, which is horrible.

[Mark Anderson @ Oct 5th 2008 4:19PM]

Absolutely, Nathan. Having to use double the number of clicks is always a better solution.

Or not.

[konshuss @ Oct 5th 2008 4:35PM]

is that ben stiller starring in 'who gives a crap' ?

[jason @ Oct 5th 2008 5:07PM]

the ball on the mighty mouse sucks so bad...

seriously, it is the slowest scrolling thing since it doesnt have momentum and it is so small. on a normal mouse one rotation of the scroll wheel gets you pretty far down the page, with the mighty mouse, it gets you about 10 lines.

[jakem @ Oct 5th 2008 5:28PM]

The Mighty Mouse is greatest oxymoron in mouse history as it's a terrible, unintuitive mouse. As for the one button trackpad and having to use different finger combinations to achieve a right-mouse click, they may work but do they make the mouse any more usable? No.

I think this is just another way for Apple to lock in their users. Train users to do simple tasks in a completely different way and then they'll find it strange to behave differently to perform the same tasks.

[Jon Doe. @ Oct 5th 2008 5:59PM]

agiovanni05,

Yah and never mind the fact that if you are in a hurry sometimes either the system or you can accidentally select left instead of right, and it fucks things up. As in left clicking on a back button on a browser and going back, instead of forward. This is purely Apple being a huge douche. The world is 2 mouse buttons. Even when I see Macs in the real world, people are using 2 mouse button mice. Its only the Apple zealots, and dipshits who refuse to admit that 2 buttons are simpler. Yah lets hide a feature because it makes it simpler for a person. I've lost count the number of Mac users who don't even KNOW that there is a right click feature in OS X. Simplicity != keeping people in the damn dark on the OS's features. the only reason the mighty mouse is even remotely selling is because the lemmings who buy Macs think that only Mac hardware works on a Mac. which leads me into the following.....

Frankly if someone can't figure out what a left mouse button is for they deserve to be removed from the gene pool. PC's might be for fart huffers*. But Macs are for retards who can't use an OS, and click on anything to pops up in their face. Walk through a Mac user's house. Everything is probably flashing 12:00 because they don't know dick about tech. These are probably the same people who sped $300 to get Best Buy to install their TV because they don't have the brains to do it themselves.
Please feel free to rank me down if you can. Since you are a Mac user I'd be surprised if you don't get confused that there are three boxes there instead of one. Obviously you would feel more comfortable if you had to hold down ctrl when you click on the downrate button, because THAT is soo much easier.

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLXbhYfOaRs

[zoopthegame @ Oct 5th 2008 6:33PM]

Instead of "backspace" press UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, B, A, SELECT, START.

Every time you do that, Mac will backspace one spot. Why would you even think of wanting a separate backspace key?

[NoAndThen @ Oct 5th 2008 8:47PM]

@zoopthegame:

isn't that the level select code to Aladin for Genesis?

[kidcanuck @ Oct 5th 2008 11:59PM]

@ Jon Doe:

Maybe they should "sculpt" a metric system for the United States. The world is full of huge douches, but at least Apple isn't going to lose a mars lander because it refuses to not be a douche, which I can deal with.

I'm just arguing for the sake of being a huge douche myself, so don't feel you have to argue back.

[Nick @ Oct 6th 2008 10:58AM]

@zoopthegame

Ehh.. You could also just simply press backspace.. Since it's there already..

[RocketTech @ Oct 6th 2008 1:50PM]

I use both PCs and Macs daily, and some of the key combos drive me nuts- my biggest one is Apple+x instead of CTL+x for key combos. Seriously, WTF, the rest of the UNIVERSE uses CTL+x, but Apple has to use Apple+x for some unknown reason- is it a pathetic attempt to subliminally make us 'Think Different'? I know I can remap the command- but it's impractical to do it for the whole enterprise where I work. The two-finger right-click thing is not nearly as reliable as a dedicated button- half the time it tries to scroll instead of right-clicking. Gestures on a track-pad are a neat idea, but a second button is far more reliable. They can do the same thing they did on the mighty-mouse- make one long button with a microswitch on either side.

[Yours Smugly @ Oct 6th 2008 11:57AM]

Lots of faboyism flying in every direction... Let's see.

Having used both Macs and PCs I hugely favor the Mac's single button trackpad. Getting the 'right' click from tapping the trackpad with two fingers is as good as it gets. Even the two-fingers-on-trackpad-plus-click=rightclick function is quicker and more comfortable than having to target a separate button. Not to mention the two-finger scrolling which beats any crappy attempt at easy trackpad scrolling on a PC laptop.

But Apple just can't figure out how to make a decent mouse, which is kind of weird regarding how they introduced the mouse-operated GUI to consumer markets. The legendary hockey puck mouse of the original iMac is legendary because it was legendarily bad. The Mighty Mouse is a step into the right direction (no pun intended), but ergonomically it's still bad. Plus the scroll ball often clogs up really fast. And that's why I use a Logitech mouse on my MacBook.

BTW, there are tons of Joe and Jane Users who don't know and basically don't care that there is a right button on their mouse. Just happen to have the experience to know this.

[Fred Fnord @ Oct 9th 2008 1:04PM]

To the guy who says 'why can't apple use control-x like everyone else.'

Okay. First, the original reason: because Apple had cut and paste first, and it has been command-c, command-x, command-v on there since it started. Windows copied it, but DOS machines didn't have an extra meta key, so they had to choose either option or control.

Second, the current reason: control keys have an actual purpose on the Mac. If you open up a terminal window and select some text and press control-c, it doesn't copy, it sends a break. That's what control-C means. It's called an ASCII code, and it has a specific meaning and purpose. Windows poached it and rejected the standard, but it's still a standard. And, BTW, that's why you can't select text in the command prompt on windows and press control-c to copy it, because they had to make control-c available for break. So now there are two different uses for control-c on windows, depending on what program you're in.

And you want Apple to change to control-c to make it less confusing? Dude, stop huffing paint and you'll be able to remember just fine.

[Erik Rogers @ Oct 9th 2008 9:19PM]

Just to add a bit about the whole DOS/Windows history of Copy/Paste.

Copy and Paste came in two standards, the Apple standard and the IBM standard. The Apple standard is what we know today as CTRL+Z,X,C,V for Undo/Cut/Copy/Paste respectively. IBM uses a combination of SHIFT+INSERT,DELETE,HOME instead. If you ever look into some old DOS applications like QBASIC's editor, you will see these shortcuts in the Edit menu.

CTRL+C is break, and I think it makes sense that it was kept in that way in general. It works in Windows just fine, I don't get what you are saying. Do a simple ping in command prompt with the -t option set and press CTRL+C whenever you want to stop it. Sure, you can't copy and paste into the command prompt the same way but you can right click and select 'Mark' and then select your text, right click again and then right-click paste. I agree, it's more work and not as intuitive, but it does work. If you really need to work with file paths you can do just like you would with UNIX (!) and press TAB to cycle through folders. Try it for yourself, do "cd C:\W" and press TAB after the W. Lookie there!

Here is the ironic part to me, we are arguing about who invented what when it comes to Copy and Paste, Apple did, blah blah blah, but hey could they implement their primordial functionality and their latest firmware please? I'm not a hater, I have a 3G iPhone and I love it but I mean come on...

[CT A @ Oct 5th 2008 3:10PM]

How Epic.

[iEye @ Oct 5th 2008 5:09PM]

One thing about Apple, they run a tight ship on hardware...

-Apple iPhone, press 1
-Apple iPod, press 2

[gaforces @ Oct 5th 2008 3:11PM]

Cant wait for spinners on my new macbook.

[brandon @ Oct 5th 2008 3:11PM]

Great, a RAZR keyboard.........

[Jash Sayani @ Oct 5th 2008 10:11PM]

Cool. New Manifacturing method is New MacBook !!

Hope it's not too pricey !!!!

[Saad Rabia @ Oct 5th 2008 3:11PM]

This is one great step I will support Apple in doing. I wish other companies would do something like this too.

I bet this will save Steve from the many headaches he gets from leaked info out of production houses Apple deal with!

[RichardBronosky @ Oct 6th 2008 9:36AM]

I just don't know if you can ever get fabrication time low enough to make any real money when you are cutting a case rather than stamp+fold+weld. This is the kind of thing that Steve loves to do though (i.e. NeXT Cube). I do, however, respect the desire for tight build tolerances. There is certainly not enough attention to quality in the industry.

You should watch a few episodes of "How it's made" on "[Discovery|The Science] Channel" here are some clips:
http://science.discovery.com/video/index.html?playerId=1391584921&titleId=1533029183
http://science.discovery.com/video/index.html?playerId=1391584921&titleId=1533029188

It is amazing how quickly to manufacturing lines move. If you had to slow any one step, like cutting a case with lasers or water, I don't know that you could meet throughput demands. Currently, laser and water cutting techniques are use on flat sheets of thin metal to compensate for the short comings of the stamping process. Seems to me that you would have to have a huge number of cutters working in parallel to keep up with the other processes that happen in series. But, can you make money operating dozens 3D cutters in place of one stamp+fold+weld line?

[Twitchy @ Oct 7th 2008 3:23AM]

Isn't this how they used to make the 'good ol' Volvos?

[Peter @ Oct 5th 2008 3:12PM]

Well; if there's no screws and it's seamless, it'll be fun trying to add another DIMM!

[brandon @ Oct 5th 2008 3:14PM]

Forget RAM, what about the battery? Oh, wait, it's Apple!! Who cares about user-replacable oversized batteries???? :P

[Michael @ Oct 5th 2008 3:23PM]

Umm have you guys actually seen a MacBook in person ? .. the DIMMs are installed through the battery bay and its dead easy to build the entire case out of one piece of alumnium and have the battery slot in as normal.

[brandon @ Oct 5th 2008 3:30PM]

But that would require screws and separate parts, which is exactly what this article promotes removing (you might have known that if you actually read the article)

[Jo Jo the Dancer @ Oct 5th 2008 3:47PM]

hmmm, maybe you could replace the battery and upgrade the RAM and HD from lifting off the keyboard.

i know, crazy talk will get you nowhere in a world driven by innovation. i'm just nutty that way

[Peter @ Oct 5th 2008 4:32PM]

@Jo Jo the Dancer
Somebody I knew had an old compaq that had something like that. I think it was an Armada or something.

[Brad @ Oct 5th 2008 5:27PM]

Apple is just trying to piss off Green Peace some more. Cutting an entire block of aluminum down just to make the housing of a laptop? What a wonderful use of material!

Anyhow, doing away with user serviceable parts entirely, no surprise. Claiming "Aircraft aluminum" of 5053 aluminum just to save a few bucks? Also not gonna be surprised.

What's sadder, that everyone believes a rumor that Apple will take away a user's ability to open their own machines, or that their customers see this as a "feature"?

[SteveM @ Oct 5th 2008 5:40PM]

"But that would require screws and separate parts, which is exactly what this article promotes removing (you might have known that if you actually read the article)"

Wrong, the article refers to the shell of the machine only. Think about it for a moment, please, you cannot have a manufacturing process crafting circuit boards and batteries magically out of aluminium. There MUST be access points in the shell to insert these components. In the case of a 'solid' shell I'd guess that these points would be under the keyboard and / or via the battery bay. Whether they'd be user-accessible or not would, of course, be up to Apple but I'd be surprised if they went that way for what are, after all, work machines in many cases.

What the speculation here would lead to, for example, a Macbook pro where the entire lower section is a solid block of aluminium. As it is now the current MBP is an aluminium base where the metal is bent upwards to form the sides and a seperate top layer connected via screms to the base. There's a thin plastic strip between the two edges. In this process, in theory anyway, you could make exactly the same shape from one block, including creating whatever internal space(s) are required. This should give you a shell that doesn't have the inherent weak spots of the current one (the sides of the case and the join between top and base mainly) with, again in theory, a substantial reduction in the numbers of manufacturing defects to boot.

[Allan @ Oct 5th 2008 5:46PM]

Brad... where are you reading all of this about doing away with user serviceable parts? The article mentions nothing about that so I don't know what "rumors" you're talking about. Even the "no screws" thing just becomes more of a possibility with this process - but it doesn't mean they won't use ANY screws for anything.

And even the thought of using ONE brick of aluminum for one laptop shell is just absurd and makes you sound absolutely mental for even thinking it. They would logically be able to cut MANY shells from one brick of aluminum or at the very least, if they cut one per brick, they could just melt the remnants back down and make another brick. Zero waste.

Some of you people just hate Apple so much you can't even see past your incredible ignorance.

[Jon Doe. @ Oct 5th 2008 6:06PM]

Michael,

And repairs? I'm laying odds on if this will HAVE to be sent into depot instead of Apple stores because the design requires some serious effort to replace the system board, optical drive, etc. Hell how about hard drives? If this is one peice unless they adobt a seriously different design this could be a serious PITA to replace. Meanwhile all of dell's product line can easily have their HD, RAM, and CPU easily replaced and upgraded now. This is purely all about Jobs and his thin fetish. The guy is stuck in this mindset that thinner == innovation. It isn't.

[ill trooper @ Oct 5th 2008 11:23PM]

Brad, Brandon... No one ever mentioned batteries being inaccessible or DIMMs being hard to add or replace, except for YOU guys, making up some nonsense likely because you don't care for Apple or it's more expensive hardware. So please, quietly sit down.

[Richy @ Oct 6th 2008 4:28AM]

I don't know if you're new to Engadget, but they've run several articles over recent months purporting to show a Macbook case design with a removeable back section containing the battery, HD, and RAM slots.

This, and the 'brick' concept are not mutually exclusive.

[jorvay @ Oct 6th 2008 9:47AM]

@Allan,
Though I mostly agree with you, Keep in mind that aluminum recycling is not all that pretty and doesn't result in the same quality of material that you start with. Unlike steel, recycled aluminum is drastically inferior to new aluminum. It's the reason you never see bicycle or motorcycle frames made from recycled aluminum.
For that matter, the recycling process is very resource-intensive. It's still more efficient than wasting the scrap, but a lot less efficient than having minimal waste to start.

However, I assume (and hope) that it won't be a matter of machining one whole case from a single block of metal.

[Jay Park @ Oct 9th 2008 12:53PM]

@allan
"They would logically be able to cut MANY shells from one brick of aluminum or at the very least, if they cut one per brick, they could just melt the remnants back down and make another brick. Zero waste.

Some of you people just hate Apple so much you can't even see past your incredible ignorance."

660.32 °C, 1220.58 °F to melt Aluminum, over and over again as you are suggesting. Zero waste? ZERO? I mean, really? How about not postulating out of butts and going along the fence and maybe saying lesser waste or something, not ZERO. You just went the completely opposite, and therefore same, direction of the idiot you were trying to idiot-ify.

Some of you people just love Apple so much you can't even see past your incredible ignorance.

@Brad
"What's sadder, that everyone believes a rumor that Apple will take away a user's ability to open their own machines, or that their customers see this as a "feature"?"

Sad indeed.

[Evangelion @ Oct 5th 2008 3:12PM]

:o

[Decoy @ Oct 5th 2008 5:11PM]

3D lasers!

[Shunnabunich @ Oct 5th 2008 9:46PM]

Are they, perchance, mounted upon the heads of frickin' sharks?

[takamaru @ Oct 5th 2008 10:37PM]

Damn you beat me to it! Cause who doesn't want sharks with frickin' lasers on their heads.

[ShadowMaker @ Oct 5th 2008 3:12PM]

That sounds promising - just not for user replaceable batteries. But then again...what else is new at Apple?

[Jesse S @ Oct 5th 2008 3:12PM]

How stupid. Why does Apple continue to use Al? The Magnesium alloy used by many other laptops (namely Thinkpads) makes for a stronger shell, and a more durable overall computer.