Apple 13.3-Inch MacBook Suffers Indignity Of Teardown

Ah, the lot of a new high-profile gadget.  One day you're making headlines and we're cooing over your new, unibody-style polycarbonate casing; the next you're splayed across a workbench with your guts on show.  iFixit have been doing their usual sterling work, taking the new 13.3-inch MacBook and breaking it down into its component pieces.

Notable changes aren't all for the good, unfortunately.  Apple have done away with the FireWire port, while the single audio port now serves double-duty as input and output. They've also deleted the IR receiver, which means Apple's shiny new Remote is no use here.

Interestingly, despite being the "plastic" model, the MacBook uses an aluminum base plate with injection-molded rubber on one side.  The battery – intended to be non-user-accessible – is held in by two types of screws, while the hard-drive is also less readily accessible than before.  The new MacBook is certainly more attractive than its predecessor, but it's not quite as upgrade friendly.