My main computer is an Apple Intel Core Duo MacBook Pro. It is a beautifully designed piece of technology. Since I spend so much time on my notebook (remember, it’s not a laptop), I have plenty of gripes. I’ve already mentioned my annoyance with the notebook’s heat, but today I’m focusing on the hinge.
When I first got the MacBook Pro, I noticed its hinge right away. It was extremely different than my Titanium PowerBook G4’s hinges. The hinge allows the bottom of the display to be very close to the keyboard, which gives the MacBook a very unique look. However, the MacBook’s display cannot be flattened out to extreme angles. I am not certain why Apple notebooks cannot have a different hinge that allows for a flattened display.
Now why would I care about such a thing? Why would anyone need or want a notebook display that can lay as flat as the keyboard? There are times when I could benefit from another ten degrees of rotation from the hinge when I am sitting with the notebook as a laptop so I can see the display better. There are other times where I am showing something to another person and the best way for them to see is if I flatten out the display. I just tilt my wrists to compensate for the lack of flexibility of the hinge.
I am also a big fan of repurposing computers and I have a hard time letting go of older systems. Repurposing laptops into digital picture frames is a popular new function for old laptops. I know it may sound like sacrilege to use an Apple system for such a mundane purpose, but in a couple of years, I’ll get a new system and my current computer will feel old, sluggish, and underpowered. Mounting a laptop in a shadow box enclosure would be an easy way to reuse the system. However, the hinge of the MacBook does not allow for a shallow shadow box.
Yes, it’s a small gripe. Yep, it does not greatly hinder my OS X experience. However, I can still gripe about it.
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