Filed under: Rumors, Other Events, Macbook Pro, MacBook
Apple schedules laptop event for Oct. 14; leaked photos abound

Our sister site Engadget received an invitation for a town-hall event in San Francisco about new Apple notebooks, featuring an image of what could be hinting at possible new aluminum enclosures for 13-inch MacBooks.
tw.apple.pro purports to have images of new aluminum cases for the MacBooks. Judging from the height of the ports (and if the photos are authentic) the new MacBooks could be significantly thinner than their predecessors.
In related news, AppleInsider claims to have confirmed that a widely-circulated spy-shot is indeed one from Apple's next generation of MacBook Pro, but is not fabricated from a single "brick" of aluminum, as 9-to-5Mac said.
The top case, however, appears now to include the ports, rather than having them integrated into the bottom case. (This could make case disassembly easier.) The port arrangement appears to include many more ports on the left side of the bottom case, much like the current MacBook.
Combined with earlier images of the back of the LCD and bottom case, the design retains much of the same look that MacBook Pros (and PowerBook G4s before them) have had since January 2001.
Apple's notebook event is scheduled for next Tuesday at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. Eastern).

![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)


Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
draconix2002 said 1:04PM on 10-09-2008
More of the same boring stuff... now they want to make MacBooks Heating pads?
I wish they would get away from the Alum cases... they're horrid, especially when trying to work outside. Style is one thing, form and function is another... Alum is great for the desktops, but how bout a laptop that isnt a huge heat sink?
More MBP!!! if this is just for MBs, count me out.
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JP said 1:16PM on 10-09-2008
Absolutely right. Better to keep that pesky heat in with the electronics where it belongs.
marc cardwell said 1:35PM on 10-09-2008
aluminum is a great choice for laptops: it is strong, light and durable. if it gets too hot, I put iron a book or pillow. no problem! in any event, when I'm doing intensive work, I'm at a desk, not in bed or on a couch.
Alex Paris said 5:14PM on 10-09-2008
they did that already. It elwas the to PowerBook.
south said 8:31PM on 10-11-2008
the two comments above this one don't make any sense.
Dakk said 1:17PM on 10-09-2008
So what IS the brick then? Is it going to be "one more thing?"
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SubGenius said 1:17PM on 10-09-2008
I'm hoping for a completely revised lineup...
10" & 13" MacBook Air
13" & 15" MacBook
13", 15" & 17" MacBook Pro
I hope the 10" MacBook Air has a plastic case like the current MacBook but have the thinness and portability of the Air.... and be priced around $799.
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Jacob said 1:20PM on 10-09-2008
Images from the guy that mockups the JetBlack MacBook pro weeks ago:
http://www.planetamac.es/asi-sera-el-aspecto-del-nuevo-macbook-del-14-de-octubre
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Ryan Parman said 3:36PM on 10-09-2008
Actually, from an engineering perspective, metal (particularly Aluminum) diffuses heat better than plastic does. I think Apple's biggest issue is making sure that the fans are running fast enough to keep the temperature lower than 150 degrees fahrenheit (which you can do with a tiny utility called smcFanControl).
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Jarques said 1:25PM on 10-09-2008
I hope they don't go with the same beveled edges as they did with the Air, I personally just don't like it that much.
But a Al. MacBook would be nice, and hopefully other hardware updates (graphics, hard drive, cpu etc.)
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JohnPQ said 1:32PM on 10-09-2008
Good lord, is Apple ever going to update the Mac mini again? Am I the only one that wants a decent little headless Mac for around $600 bucks? Man, they are out of touch with what we want.
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Brian said 1:42PM on 10-09-2008
No you are not, I want one as well.
Gewalt said 1:47PM on 10-09-2008
Right there with you. I've been dying for 9-11" Macbooks forever. What is Job's obsession of huge screens? If anything, the iPod/Touch/Phone market should have shown Job's that you can do awesome things without a ginormous and expensive monitor. But no. Apple refuses to either deliver or let a third party license the OS. /sigh
Ed Moyse said 5:41AM on 10-10-2008
I was *just* saying the same thing to my officemate. I could do with a new laptop, but I've been wanting a mac to put under my TV for *two years*. A mac mini would do fine but I keep thinking an update must be around the corner...
Jash Sayani said 1:35PM on 10-09-2008
Affordable netbooks please!!
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Alex Brooks said 1:40PM on 10-09-2008
Not sure why the original article says it is in San Francisco, Cupertino is a fair distance from the city.
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Tom said 1:43PM on 10-09-2008
"Combined with earlier images of the back of the LCD and bottom case, the design retains much of the same look that MacBook Pros (and PowerBook G4s before them) have had since January 2001."
The January 2001 Powerbook G4 was the titanium design, and was a decent bit different then the aluminum designs we think of now. The first aluminum ones came out in January 2003 with the 12 and 17, then the 15 came out that September.
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Aron T said 1:57PM on 10-09-2008
Good on ya!
Squid7085 said 5:06PM on 10-09-2008
No reason to change a perfectly good design, I have had two PowerBooks and a MacBook Pro now, I have no problem with the fact the design has not changed. They are an absolute dream to carry around, use and hold. The design is something that the rest of the industry has yet to match.
David Teare said 1:45PM on 10-09-2008
I am so looking forward to a new MacBook Pro! I have not upgraded for over a year which feels like a lifetime! I'd buy a new one every 6 months if Intel would get back to making huge performance increases more frequently like they did in the good old days.
I just hope that this new lineup doesn't burn my legs anymore.
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