Maybe they could get a standard size and connector. Then you wouldn't have to toss old batteries with a new computer and there would be less waste.

Not to mention it would help consumers. Oh wait, nevermind.

oh i have an idea.. standardize the DC power jacks. oh wait.. no that's too intelligent.

umm... yeah.

Let's stifle Apple's innovation be requiring them to use a standardized battery size and power supply.

If that were the case, MacBooks would have to use the same size power brick as the MacBook Pro and we wouldn't have the MagSafe connectors.

Personally, I prefer the innovation over being able to use the same battery as my old PowerBook or the same power brick as a coworkers Dell.

How about one battery design for all laptops? Or at least 5 or less..

Duracell tried this about 5-10 years ago. Failed miserably. You were supposed to buy one standard battery for your laptop (NiMH, IIRC) and it would work from laptops from many manufacturers. Problem is it failed miserably. A few companies made them, but it really was just a huge flop.

I expect the same this time around.

umm... yeah. Let's stifle Apple's innovation be requiring them to use a standardized battery size and power supply.

Right, there's so much innovation on those batteries! Look, its got a rounded corner on one end!

If that were the case, MacBooks would have to use the same size power brick as the MacBook Pro

No, you'd have different size batteries for different size computers (stupid to think you'd have just one size, because if Apple ever dared make a sub-notebook, the battery would take up much of the size).

and we wouldn't have the MagSafe connectors.And what does having a magsafe connector have to do with the battery? That's a power supply/connector, not anything related to the battery. Although wouldn't it be nice if there were a standard connector as well, so if you forgot your power pack you weren't screwed, you could borrow someone elses?

Personally, I prefer the innovation over being able to use the same battery as my old PowerBook or the same power brick as a coworkers Dell.

yeah, nothing like having all that money to throw around. Who wants to use all those parts from your previous computer on your new one, just buy all new things! Of course, that's the mac way, anyway. Get an iMac! Then when the computer needs to be replaced, you can throw out that perfectly good built-in LCD as well that you spent all that money on and just buy a new computer with another built-in LCD!

"yeah, nothing like having all that money to throw around. Who wants to use all those parts from your previous computer on your new one, just buy all new things! Of course, that's the mac way, anyway. Get an iMac! Then when the computer needs to be replaced, you can throw out that perfectly good built-in LCD as well that you spent all that money on and just buy a new computer with another built-in LCD!"

Let's see here, when I was doing the PC thing, I built my own and kept it for 3 years.

Every time, I had to pretty much toss the whole thing except for the HD and monitor. PC-66->PC100->PC133->DDR->DDR2. AGP1x->8x->PCIE, different motherboards. AT->ATX->new ATX.

Some manufacturers slide the battery in, some clip on the front or back, some have auxiliary bays that can hold a drive or a battery. Apple has the kind that clips in, but the battery has 2 parts. It has the plain old squared cell compartment, with a contoured outer housing, and then the lower shell piece with the foot is on that. Apple could very easily have a slide-in battery design, but this would force them to make one side of their portables ugly and would probably add thickness to the overall form factor. I think most people don't realize that apple uses customized internal frames and such, but built by the same folks that build the frames for alll the other manufacturers. Standardized batteries isn't the issues. It's the cells in the batteries that need to be standardized, and also their location in the computer relating to heat producing parts. Who are we, end users to argue with top notch industry leading engineers?

@alterbentzion: i think MacNN is missing that fact that these are new _versions_. the new free version of the player is now more like a crippled "Pro"...while you don't lose any features, it lets you sample pro features that can be unlocked when purchased.

looks like the announcement was made before Bare Bones' online Digital River store was updated accordingly. there's lots of broken links and error messages. might need to wait a few hours before you try ordering.

as of this morning, the online store isn't updated (and is having major problems...broken links, missing pages, etc.) better wait a while before they get it all straightened out.