An Aluminum Thinkpad...

Hells no, I will never buy an aluminum-shelled Thinkpad.

I had a z61m with a "Titanium" lid, it was cool to look at, but didn't serve a purpose. If I used it more as a mobile laptop it would have probably scratched and I'd be pissed to no end.

I see people's Mac Books all the time at work, I'm amazed at the scratches. God forbid if it drops. Crushed ports, bent ends.

I like the finish Thinkpads have (soft/rubbery).

It be cool if they used some more composites or carbon fiber (didn't some Thinkpads have carbon fiber re-enforced plastics?), but for an outer shell, aluminum is purely an aesthetic quality. Does nothing for durability, and as others have mentioned, just transfers heat into your lap.

Aluminum chassis makes sense, but composites/carbon-fiber can be stronger...

Sigh when is our carbon nanotube material going to come!?

 

Carbon nanotubes are carcinogenic though and pretty resource intensive at the moment (ie requires nonrenewable resources and creates harmful waste). At least metals can be recycled (that's a large part of the reason why Apple is such a green company in terms of only their products). And yes, I know it was a rhetorical question...

http://www.greenpeace.org/internati...ics/electronics/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/

At least with metals, you have multitudes of treatment options and even alloys. If your treatment (or lack of) sucks and the product scratches easily, you can buff it out in some cases. Try getting rid of a scratch on rubber paint.