Mrnix, Richrd and Jordn

Macbook Pro  Released in 2008  The Pro was sleeker, more refined, and more powerful for its size and weight.  With a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, a HD Graphics card.  Market price: $1199 (13”) $1799 (15”) $2499 (17”)

What’s the cost?  But with all these flashy stats and gadgets, how much do these machines really cost to make?  What goes into them, and how does the creation and development of these machines affect our planet and the beings that inhabit it?

Macbook Pro

External Components  Trackpad  Keyboard  Screen

Trackpad  Pros: -Made with aluminium, glass and polycarbonate. -Built in -Has multiple functions  Disadvantages: -Expensive -Takes a while to get used to -Built in Price range: $70-$140

Keyboard  Full sized backlit keyboard, 12 function keys. The function keys allow you to do all kinds of nifty stuff that makes a mac book stand out.  Pros: -You can easily take out all of the keys for cleaning or if you want to replace them, this is the only thing that you can replace without opening the back of your MacBook.  Cons: -If taken off and easily be lost

Screen  Pros: -LED-backlit glossy widescreen this is good because led screens tend to drain less of the battery than non- LED screens -LED-screens are also better for your computers response time i.e. making it faster. -They also use LED because it makes the display able to show a very wide spectrum of colors making it very good for designers.  Cons: -The glossy screen is that it reflects light, disadvantage of this is when there is a light source behind you, this will reflect and make the screen harder to see.

Internal components  Logic board  Battery  Hard drive  DVD-Burner  Camera Lens  Fan  Speaker  RAM

Logic board  Pros: -Heart of the computer -Manages various systems -Can be replaced  Cons: -Expensive -If damaged, whole computer is too. -Many issues occur Price range: $300-$500

Battery  Pros: -Main power source -Created by the company with the conservation of energy and the planet in mind -Built in China  Cons: -Release of carbon emissions during production. -Poor energy efficiency, leading to energy (and thusly carbon emission) wastage. -Batteries are notoriously hard to recycle -Built in China Price range: $

Hard drive  Pros: -All information is stored here -Can be replaced -Need to save Cons: -Replaceable but lose all information if not backed up -Can be affected by software Price range: ~$100

DVD Burner AKA Superdrive  Pros: -Can use both DVDs and CDs -Internal -From Japan/Korea  Cons: -Only 1 disc can be used at a time Price range: $100-$150

Camera (iSight)  Pros: -Developed by Apple, which means that they are cheaper and can be designed with detailed specifications. -Gives the laptop the ability to capture images and videos.  Cons: -Compared to many cameras available at the moment, laptop cameras tend to offer lower quality images and video. -The camera is difficult to replace on account of the fact that it is fully built-in by Apple.

Fan  Pros: -Used to cool the mac, located in the bottom.  Cons: -If broken, laptop overheats -The companies do that on purpose so that you have to buy a new mac within a year.

Speaker  Pros: -There are 3 speakers, 1 left, 1 right and 1 subwoofer in the same module. -Allows sound from the computer -Built in  Cons: -There are several cases where the internal speakers stop working after unplugging external speakers. - Older MacBook’s also tend to have a flaw in the balance between the left and right speakers.

RAM  Pros -Cheaper and easier to build than SRAM. Because of this, it is more environmentally friendly for Apple to use DRAM in their MacBooks. -New types of DRAM are constantly being created.  Cons: -SRAM is much faster than DRAM, whilst it is more difficult to build. -All types of RAM must be built in a factory.