[Ti] Al-book scratch

[Colin Buttimer]

> Colin - yes, I know that the G3 Pismo was a very rugged design.  (As
> a polymer guy, I can say) there is nothing as durable as a correctly
> selected plastic, for the weight.  Of course, designing a powerbook
> also requires other performance factors (such as heat conductivity,
> stiffness, surface appearance), so the choice of material is not a
> trivial task.
But I do think that Apple made the choice to go for looks over practicality
when they designed the metal Powerbooks.
 
> Your description of your meeting made me think of this analogy: it is
> like drinking a 1960 Burgundy from a fine glass or from a styrofoam
> cup.  Of course the glass is more delicate, but can you imagine what
> it must be like using a styrofoam cup ?
Heh yes, but a scratched, possibly chipped fine glass?
 
> I also make this comparison to myself at meetings.  I sometimes
> verbalise it, and refer to the other laptops as a block of concrete
> or as a paving slab with a Dell badge on it.  The Apple design is
> really streets ahead of the game.  Although Sony seem to catch up
> pretty quickly.
Agreed - they follow the dictum that less is more and achieve an admirable
elegance. Sony's laptops don't touch Apple's when you get close up to them I
think. I do wonder where Apple can really go from here though unless they
change the paradigm entirely and make something using retinal projection
with a wearable processor and hd, linked with bluetooth data transfer -
maybe in a decade or two...
 
> Your post made me look carefully at my Al book.  On the end of the
> powerbook with the hinge, I have a small nick that shows the
> 'silvery' metal underneath, but other wise, mine is pretty clean.  It
> is in and out of my briefcase all the time, travels with me
> everywhere, and I treat it just like a thick magazine, in terms of
> how I put it in and take it out of my briefcase.  I have no
> protective sleeve or anything.
I do the same with mine, so am doubly puzzled how the scratch happened.

> So I feel it is quite robust.  On my Ti, the paint was just starting
> to wear off in a few places (just regular abrasion).  The anodized
> oxide coating is much more durable than regular paint, so I do not
> expect to see this on my Al-book.
I hope you're right - I'd be very upset to see my AlBook go the way of my
TiBook 667 which blistered and peeled in a number of places.

Many thanks to Scott Smith for the heads up on the aluminium paint.

All the best, Colin.