UPDATE December 14 , 2006 : Speck Products has informed Macworld that the price of the SeeThru is now $ 50 .
If you ’ve been reading Macworld.com late , you screw that Rob Griffiths and I spent the past week with a number of Mac - industry luminaries cruise the western Caribbean . We were lucky enough to be speakers forMacMania V , a combining of a luxury cruise and a Mac conference . Interestingly , although a deal of schematic classes were offer , many of the attendees tell me that their favorite view of the sail wasaccess — at nearly any time of mean solar day , they could ask Mac experts for reply , entropy , or opinions . So I was n’t surprised to get many , many dubiousness over the course of study of the week .
What Ididn’texpect was what the most frequent question would be : “ Why is your MacBook Prored ? ”
You see , just before I left for the cruise , Speck Productssent me a sample of the company ’s newSeeThru Hardshell for 15″ MacBook Pro (; $ 40 ) . Made of “ shatter - cogent evidence ” polycarbonate charge plate , the SeeThru is a two - piece protective covering for the 15 - inch MacBook Pro ; one piece attaches to the palpebra / screen of the MacBook Pro , while the other covers the bottom and sides of the notebook computer . ( The current SeeThru is compatible with only the Core Duo MacBook Pro ; reading for the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro and the MacBook are in the works . )
Although the SeeThru is available in a completely clear version that does n’t really exchange the show of your laptop , it ’s the glossy red model that has adorned my MacBook Pro for the retiring couple weeks , turning it into a cherry - violent , attention - seize notebook computer . Wherever I go , people asked me about it — I even field queries from Mac - have sail - taker who were n’t part of MacMania V.
The SeeThru looks bully , but it ’s also operable . The easily - scratched and -dented external Al surface of your MacBook Pro are protect — for the first fourth dimension , I was able to drop my laptop computer in airport - security BIN without marvel if it would emerge from the hug drug - ray with a lot of new scratches on the bottom — while all of its ports and button remain accessible , thanks to perfectly - align opening in the plastic . ( In addition to the SeeThru ’s protective character , a MacMania attender point out that he ’d put adhesive “ grips ” on the SeeThru — something he would n’t feel comfortable utilise directly to his brand - new MacBook Pro . )
I was more impressed than I expected to be by the fit and finish of the SeeThru ; in addition to the ripe alliance of the porthole possible action , the case gibe firmly , with no rattling or looseness . The top slice uses four small clips — two on the leftfield , two on the right — to attach itself to your MacBook Pro ’s screen / lid . The bottom piece attaches using two alike cartridge holder on the front right field and left along with five along the rear of your MacBook Pro ( near the notebook ’s vents ) . Although the SeeThru makes your reckoner a mo thicker , the difference is small enough that most tegument / sleeve cases still equip . On the other hand , there ’s no opening on the bottom of the case for the MacBook Pro ’s battery ; you need to remove the entire bottom piece of the SeeThru to switch assault and battery . fortuitously , this is an easy outgrowth , and one advantage of this design is that it proffer slightly better protection for your laptop computer — and , presumably , better toughness for the case itself — than if the lawsuit offered a removable battery cover . Four rubber feet on the bottom of the SeeThru keep your notebook in place on a desk or table .
As I mentioned above , I found the SeeThru ’s openings to allow unfettered access to my MacBook Pro ’s ports . However , I did come across a couple modest issues while using those port . The first arises if you ’re using a USB or FireWire peripheral with a very thick body that bid right up against the MacBook Pro ’s body ; for example , when using Micromat’sProtege , a portable FireWire utility driving force , I had to insert the crusade very firmly into the FireWire port to ensure that it was get a salutary connecter . The other way out is that some security locks , which often bet on the material smother the laptop ’s built - in lock hole being a specific thickness , do n’t forge with the SeeThru , since it increases the effective thickness .
The only other issue with the SeeThru is that itslightly — we’re talking a few grade — thin the maximal angle to which you could open your MacBook Pro ’s screen . I mention this only because that slant is already a few degrees less than that of its PowerBook G4 predecessor thanks to a change Apple made it the cover ’s flexible joint pattern on the MacBook Pro .
Now , the most coarse question I ’ve received about the SeeThru — after “ Where did you get that?”—has been “ Does it make the MacBook Pro hot ? ” A reasonable interrogative , think that the SeeThru completely encloses the computer . After a couple weeks of using a SeeThru - enclosed MacBook Pro as my primary automobile , my reply is , “ A little , but not much . ” Keep in mind that a good amount of the heat the MacBook Pro generates during use is let go through the vents on the hindquarters of the machine and the keyboard / speaker / wristrest sphere ; those expanse stay unobscured by the SeeThru . And the bottom of the case has a series of 74 small vents that let some amount of air to reach the bottom surface of your MacBook Pro , even when it ’s sitting on your lap . As I write this , the temperature of my grueling crusade ( get using Marcel Bresink’sTemperature Monitorutility ) has been hold steady at 104 level Fahrenheit after several hours of constant work — only a few degrees hotter than without the SeeThru . And the SeeThru has a relate — but unadvertised — welfare : Because it keep your MacBook Pro ’s hot - atomic number 13 bottom away from your tegument , you’re able to actuallyuseyour laptop on your lap without having to practice some variety of lap covering protector .
Considering that vendors sell standardised cases for the iPod — one that address the musician in a light or semitransparent shell — for $ 30 or more , $ 40 for a case that track and protects your entire notebook computer seems quite reasonable . Still , I ’ve no doubt that the SeeThru will prove to be a sexual love / hate product — some people will appreciate the opportunity to protect ( and pretty - up ) their notebook , whereas others will be offended by the mereideaof “ covering up ” a MacBook Pro . ( in earnest ; in increase to the legion hoi polloi I met last calendar week who wanted more information about the SeeThru , there were two or three who reacted as if I was wrapping the Mona Lisa in tinfoil . ) But if you ’re reckon for a way to add some always - on protection for your 15 - inch MacBook Pro , and , in the example of the red SeeThru , to add a snatch of flash , the SeeThru is a nice accessory for a fair Mary Leontyne Price . I do n’t plan on take mine off anytime soon .
