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I've always found the story of the webcam indicator shining through metal to be fascinating. On MacBook laptops from ~2011, a green light would indicate when t
by thamer 5y ago
I've always found the story of the webcam indicator shining through metal to be fascinating.
On MacBook laptops from ~2011, a green light would indicate when the webcam was in use. But the magical part of this was that when it was off, you couldn't see the LED at all, so it looked like this light was shining through the metal bezel at the top. This was achieved by drilling extremely small holes in the frame above the LED, small enough that they're barely visible without magnification but having enough of them that light can easily pass through. It's a striking effect, if you notice it.
To do this, they apparently bought so many high-precision lasers just for this feature that it created a shortage for other companies that needed them: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-11-03/apples-supply-chain-secret-hoard-lasers https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-11-03/apples-su...
- danudey 5y agoGoogling isn't finding the story, so take this with a grain of salt, but as I recall there have been incidents where Apple needed so many of a specific machine, made by one specific company, to set up their manufacturing, but when they couldn't get enough delivered on time they bought the company outright. (Presumably this would help by giving them access to the IP so they could contract other factories to manufacture them as well, since Apple has the up-front cash to do it) Again, I can't find the article so who knows if it's true, but it sounds very, very Apple to do that.
- MBCook 5y agoThat sounds very familiar. I think they might’ve done it to source the milling machines used when they switched to the unibody MacBook pros?
- discordance 5y agoA bit dated now, but still a good analysis by Horace Dediu on Apple’s machinery expenditure here: http://www.asymco.com/2011/10/16/how-much-do-apples-factories-cost/ http://www.asymco.com/2011/10/16/how-much-do-apples-factorie...
- throwawaymanbot 5y agoI remember Jonny Ive mentioned this and how he was proud to have designed it.
- sangnoir 5y agoThere was also a small glass/saphire company that agreed to sell exclusively to Apple, they had to innvest a lot of money to increase capacity, and in the end, Apple decided to continue using Gorilla glass, and the company went under.
- MertsA 5y agoThe CEO was charged with fraud afterwards and they undoubtedly had some contract with Apple committing to it. It would seem that the supplier lied about their capabilities. https://www.engadget.com/2019-05-06-apple-sapphire-glass-supplier-charged-with-fraud.html https://www.engadget.com/2019-05-06-apple-sapphire-glass-sup...
- wingspar 5y agoI recall they used the laser holes for the power light in the front of those MacBooks. The led ‘breathes’ (fading in and out) when the computer is ‘asleep’
- Telemakhos 5y agoYes, and it is gorgeous. I still have my 2012 MacBook Pro with this light in the front. I've upgraded to the M1 MBP, but the 2012 model still runs beautifully almost ten years later.
- rasz 5y agoThere was also a meme about Apple buying 10K CNC machines for unibody manufacturing. Probably exaggerated by one order of magnitude, but still substantial.