No More Plastic Notebooks From Apple

Steve Jobs promised to make Apple a greener company. With the MacBook due for a redesign, AppleInsider reports the new laptop enclosure will be crafted of aluminum and stainless steel, similar to the company's other current offerings. Thus will end almost two decades of

plastic Apple laptops spanning from the original Mac Portable released in 1989 (pictured above). New MacBooks and MacBook Pros should start shipping in the second half of 2008. Apple's industrial design cycle is typically 18-24 months, and the latest plastic MacBook was first released in May 2006. The new version is likely to incorporate several of the design features seen on the MacBook Air.

Apple received praise when the latest iMac was revealed to have an aluminum enclosure and glass display, composing the machine of more recyclable materials. By the end of this year, Apple plans to eliminate arsenic from flat-panel display glass, and completely remove polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from its products.

[via AppleInsider]