MAC BLOG SAFARI
Mac Bloggers Soak In Search, Douse Non-Compete Agreements, Whet Appetites for Carbon

There are a lot of interesting nuggets in the Apple-focused blogosphere this week, but a few in particular rise to the top.

First, there's the rumor that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) might make its MacBook Air even lighter with carbon fiber. Then you have the ongoing tug-o-war between Apple and IBM (NYSE: IBM) over chip genius Mark Papermaster. Apple CEO Steve Jobs says the iPhone and iPod touch are "viable" games devices. Meanwhile, is Apple looking to shake Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) boat with a new search engine of its very own?

Lighter Than Air?

Just weeks after Apple put to rest speculation about the so-called brick manufacturing process for MacBooks, another laptop materials rumor has surfaced: the notion that Apple may be working to make the MacBook Air even lighter through the use of carbon fiber.

"It turns out that the notebook's bottom cover is the second heaviest structural component outside the unibody chassis (260 grams), weighing in at 152 grams. The rear bezel, or top cover with the Apple logo, weighs 211 grams," wrote editor-in-chief Kasper Jade at AppleInsider.com. While the carbon fiber idea may only be a rumor, Jade says a shift to a carbon fiber bottom is far enough along in development at Apple that it could appear sometimes in 2009.

"This redesign would explain why the Air did not get many of the same tweaks as the MB (MacBook) and MBP (MacBook Pro) (such as the new trackpad)," commented Phlake on the blog's post on the subject.

One commenter thought the MacBook Air might not be the true focus of Apple's rumored carbon fiber efforts. "Carbon Fiber = Mac Netbook ... MacWorld 2009," added satchmo.

The real question, though, isn't whether Apple can build a carbon fiber laptop -- it's whether carbon fiber is a good material to use in laptops.

"It definitely is," David Pitlyuk, a carbon fiber enthusiast and editor of the Carbon Fiber Gear blog, told MacNewsWorld.

"In an application like a laptop, we can already see the weight benefits of carbon fiber vs. aluminum come into play. Using carbon fiber to replace the bottom case of the Air -- made of aluminum -- saves .22 pounds, which is [about 7.4] percent in weight savings on the entire laptop -- for replacing just one part," he said.

"Not to mention, carbon fiber looks great! It's an exotic type of material, and while aluminum looks good as well, carbon fiber is different. Since carbon fiber is UV (ultraviolet) coated, I would think it is less susceptible to noticeable scratches in comparison to raw aluminum. Aluminum would also be more inclined to dent," he added, noting that carbon fiber is stronger than aluminum but harder to work with.

Pitlyuk also said that because there are different ways to weave carbon fiber, Apple could utilize different colors of carbon fiber to deliver completely different looks.

At least two other laptops have already used carbon fiber -- the Voodoo Envy 133 (available now) and the Sony (NYSE: SNE) Vaio TX series (from 2005).

Papermaster Still in Demand

The ongoing saga between Apple and IBM over the former's hiring of Mark Papermaster is playing out in a variety of court documents. Last week, a judge ordered Papermaster to stand down for the time being at Apple, and this week the latest dirt reveals that Papermaster wasn't even Apple's first choice to head up its vaunted iPod line. Still, to no surprise, most of the Apple-focused blogs are skewing toward Papermaster's side of the issue.

"It has become a matter of employment in the high tech industry that every employee hiring on has to sign a non-compete agreement. Most states do not support them and very few have been upheld in the courts," commented X-SW-Engineer on the Apple Ink blog post on the subject.

On an Ars Technica blog post on the subject, wizard69 noted, "This is an interesting case. Frankly, I'd like to see Apple pursue this as far as needed, hopefully to the supreme court to get such contracts clearly ruled illegal nation wide. As has been described a number of times, such contracts make indentured servants out of people which is something we supposedly got rid of a long time ago."

While non-compete agreements industrywide are very common, enforcing them is apparently not.

"Enforcing non-competes is wildly inconsistent and really depends on the state and jurisdiction. A ruling a couple of years ago made non-competes difficult to enforce in California, but other states take a much harder line. That could be the reason IBM filed its suit proactively -- to ensure that the case was docketed outside of California," Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT, told MacNewsWorld.

So does IBM have reasonable concern? Might Papermaster share IBM secrets?

"Historically, IBM hasn't been particularly aggressive in litigating this sort of thing, which makes me think there may significant issues that haven't yet surfaced. The judge ordering Papermaster not to begin work at Apple reinforces that," King noted.

Recent filings in the case suggest that IBM may be making such a fuss because the company has been working on a memory technology called "racetrack memory" that could purportedly let an iPod or consumer device store 500,000 songs, according to Electronista. Currently, the direct connection between racetrack memory, its long-term release, and Papermaster's knowledge of the program remains to be seen in any public court filings or media reports.

Game On!

In an interview in The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, "I think the iPhone and iPod touch may emerge as really viable devices in the mobile games market this holiday season." That one-line comment sparked a variety of blog posts, though few seemed surprised.

"This was certainly in the cards," DMann noted on the MacRumors.com post on the subject.

Commenter teflon, however, may have nailed the key difference between the iPhone and iPod touch vs. dedicated gaming devices like the Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.

"I think the success of iPod touch/iPhone games is because iPod touch/iPhone are excellent multimedia devices by itself. There are far more people who like to listen to music/ watch videos on devices than people who like to play games. Only the avid game players want to carry a gaming only device with them all the time," teflon wrote. "PSP had multimedia functions, but they were nowhere close in terms of user interface. But now, all these people who carry iPods anyway to listen to music have access to games. So now when they're bored, they'll whip out their iPod and play a few games. I never had a DS or PSP before, and I was never really interested in games, but now I too play games on my iPod touch when I'm bored."

In addition, the Journal alluded to the easy App Store model as a reason why the iPhone and iPod touch game world has been taking off. It's easy and fast for developers to create a game, get it posted, and start making money.

So how successful is Apple iPhone and iPod gaming so far?

"iPhone OS, including both iPhone and iPod touch, is an exciting new platform for gaming. A third of the applications currently available for download on the App Store fall into the gaming and entertainment categories. With somewhere between 15 to 20 million devices out there running iPhone OS in less than 18 months after the initial iPhone launch, we're still in the very early stages of this platform's growth," Raven Zachary, founder of iPhoneDevCamp and a contributing analyst for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.

"Putting this into perspective, there are more than 80 million Nintendo DS units and more than 30 million Sony PSP units out there four years after the launch of these platforms. I expect iPhone OS to exceed Nintendo DS and Sony PSP total unit sales within the next few years," he added. However, he noted, not all iPhone owners actually play games.

Apple Going After Google?

In perhaps the biggest rumor of the week, some birds have been chirping in the wind that Apple might be working on its own search engine. Right now, a Google search field is integrated right into Apple's Safari browser. Might the company be looking into its own search site?

TechCrunch says it's receiving reports that Apple is working on a search engine of some sort. TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, however, doesn't believe the company would go after Google.

"Here's what we think is really going on: Apple doesn't like the search experience on its mobile devices, and may be building a radically different user experience which is much more visual than exists today," he wrote. "It will likely still be powered by Google results, but Apple may present it in a very different way that suits mobile users much better."

The big question, of course, is "why?" and reader M Dolon offered one of the best answers:

"As long as it's not called 'Cuil' and behaves nothing like it, Apple might have a fighting chance. They seem to have a talent at making us need prettier versions of things we already have."