4 ms·

Same here. Once I figured it out, I wondered why they don't ever use the same technique to expose the Apple logo on the lid of the laptop - so that the lid is

by dotBen 15y ago

Same here. Once I figured it out, I wondered why they don't ever use the same technique to expose the Apple logo on the lid of the laptop - so that the lid is perfectly flush/clean when the screen is closed but the Apple logo is shown during use. ...now I know the answer: the lasers are so expensive and in such short supply it would presumably create a bottleneck in the production - esp given the surface area of the logo and thus the amount of holes needed.

kgermino 15y ago
Not to mention that, while it would be cool and notable (and maybe worth it for that alone) making the logo invisible when the computer is turned off eliminates a marketing opportunity. The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Removing the logo removes the distinctiveness of the computer when it is turned off. Also, I'm not sure how the computer would look without a logo interupting it. I guess almost every other manufacturer comes close to this, but I think an Apple computer would feel wrong with a a view of unbroken alumninum.
- mistermann 15y ago
  >The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Exactly. Buying billboards on the most expensive streets in the world is very expensive. Having your customers sitting lined up in a row in coffee shops with their laptop lids with the lighted apple logo pointing outward to the street on these very same streets must be very valuable advertising. I'm constantly amazed when I walk by coffee shops and see the typical 75% apple market share, when just a decade ago they were really a niche player.
  - dotBen 15y ago
    Just to point out, if Apple did what I'm suggesting they would still achieve the same effect because the laptop would be on and thus shining through. It's only when it's off that they would miss out - but most of the time if my laptop is out of my bag then it's on.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
      If they did that, having the logo light up through aluminium would make an awesome ad.
      - rdl 15y ago
        I use a speck black satin plastic case on my air, and you see nothing when it is powered off, but the logo shines through when on.
- bigiain 15y ago
  "The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Removing the logo removes the distinctiveness of the computer when it is turned off." It still took them a while to put them on the right way up. The first few laptops they sold with the Apple logo on the lid, they were oriented so they were "right way up" for the user when the lid was closed. That made them all upside down in all those tech conference shots from the stage...
  - schrototo 15y ago
    It could also be a reflection of how laptop usage has changed over time. Maybe a couple of years ago laptops were closed most of the time, hence the decision to put the logo up that way.
  - bho 15y ago
    In the future, they should create the microholes and keep the logo dimly lit in the orientation that faces the user when they open the laptop. Once the laptop is open, the array of LEDs could change to make the logo oriented the current way. There is already something similar on one of the numerous android handsets out there where the 4 hardware keys turn 90 degrees when you switch from portrait to landscape mode. Not quite as polished, but similar in concept.
    - gerrit 15y ago
      The lit-up logo is Not powered by a special array of LEDs, it's just the screen backlighting shining through a hole. You can verify that by changing the display brightness, the logo will change brightness accordingly. Or just hold the turned-off laptop in front of a bright light source, the apple-shaped hole wil, be visible through the screen
johncoltrane 15y ago
Those micro-holes are covering a very small surface roughly the size of a LED. The small area is a large reason for their invisibility. Using them on a much larger area would make them a lot more visible as a whole, even without light. The result would probably look like a vaguely apple-looking smudge. Somehow I don't think it would pass.
- swombat 15y ago
  Not only that, but it would probably weaken the strength of the lid considerably. Imagine holding your macbook air in a certain way and, when you put it down, finding you've made a thumb-print dent in the lid...

by dotBen 15y ago

kgermino 15y ago

Not to mention that, while it would be cool and notable (and maybe worth it for that alone) making the logo invisible when the computer is turned off eliminates a marketing opportunity. The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Removing the logo removes the distinctiveness of the computer when it is turned off. Also, I'm not sure how the computer would look without a logo interupting it. I guess almost every other manufacturer comes close to this, but I think an Apple computer would feel wrong with a a view of unbroken alumninum.

mistermann 15y ago
>The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Exactly. Buying billboards on the most expensive streets in the world is very expensive. Having your customers sitting lined up in a row in coffee shops with their laptop lids with the lighted apple logo pointing outward to the street on these very same streets must be very valuable advertising. I'm constantly amazed when I walk by coffee shops and see the typical 75% apple market share, when just a decade ago they were really a niche player.
- dotBen 15y ago
  Just to point out, if Apple did what I'm suggesting they would still achieve the same effect because the laptop would be on and thus shining through. It's only when it's off that they would miss out - but most of the time if my laptop is out of my bag then it's on.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
    If they did that, having the logo light up through aluminium would make an awesome ad.
    - rdl 15y ago
      I use a speck black satin plastic case on my air, and you see nothing when it is powered off, but the logo shines through when on.
bigiain 15y ago
"The simple Apple logo against a plain backdrop provides a clean advertisement for Apple. Removing the logo removes the distinctiveness of the computer when it is turned off." It still took them a while to put them on the right way up. The first few laptops they sold with the Apple logo on the lid, they were oriented so they were "right way up" for the user when the lid was closed. That made them all upside down in all those tech conference shots from the stage...
- schrototo 15y ago
  It could also be a reflection of how laptop usage has changed over time. Maybe a couple of years ago laptops were closed most of the time, hence the decision to put the logo up that way.
- bho 15y ago
  In the future, they should create the microholes and keep the logo dimly lit in the orientation that faces the user when they open the laptop. Once the laptop is open, the array of LEDs could change to make the logo oriented the current way. There is already something similar on one of the numerous android handsets out there where the 4 hardware keys turn 90 degrees when you switch from portrait to landscape mode. Not quite as polished, but similar in concept.
  - gerrit 15y ago
    The lit-up logo is Not powered by a special array of LEDs, it's just the screen backlighting shining through a hole. You can verify that by changing the display brightness, the logo will change brightness accordingly. Or just hold the turned-off laptop in front of a bright light source, the apple-shaped hole wil, be visible through the screen

johncoltrane 15y ago

Those micro-holes are covering a very small surface roughly the size of a LED. The small area is a large reason for their invisibility. Using them on a much larger area would make them a lot more visible as a whole, even without light. The result would probably look like a vaguely apple-looking smudge. Somehow I don't think it would pass.

swombat 15y ago
Not only that, but it would probably weaken the strength of the lid considerably. Imagine holding your macbook air in a certain way and, when you put it down, finding you've made a thumb-print dent in the lid...