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Comment by rsync | Hacker News Reader

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rsync·

"Welcome to ~2004 in IBM ThinkPad X-series land, IBM "solved the laptop form factor" ~4 years prior to Apple's Air."

No. What goes without saying in my original comment was the fact that the MBA has an aluminum unibody.

Aluminum (or other metal) unibody cases represented a major step forward in aesthetics, substance and durability.

I don't care how interesting the thinkpads are (and they are interesting) - I am not going backwards to plastic.

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In case you're unaware, many ThinkPads use magnesium alloys quite extensively and just use plastic in areas like the keyboard keys and palmrest.

The X220 I'm typing this on is built like a tank, and I'm quite appreciative the palmrest and keyboard keys at least aren't a thermally conductive metal like the rest of the machine.

Doesn't your MBA use plastic keys as well?

The magnesium alloy ThinkPads and some Dells use is far more durable than aluminium because it's harder so doesn't bend on impact. It's also less likely to scratch. I've seen countless scratched Macbooks over the years.

Plus unibody designs mean the whole laptop body needs to be replaced if there is damage instead of just replacing a single panel. High end Dell laptops are almost modular in comparison.

> I am not going backwards to plastic.

And yet the aviation industry, obsessed with lightness and durability, is eliminating aluminium in favour of plastics with each successive generation.

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