I never lost my faith in Apple (I confess, I'm a fanboy), but it has been strengthened by this MW09 report on arstechnica.

I can look forward to owning a matte screen Unibody MacBook now (not that I really doubted it, but it's nice to have closure).

Edit: And I do not share the feeling of disappointment present throughout the press I peruse. The announcements addressed topics of considerable relevance to my interests.

The matte option is only available on the new 17" MBP. I'm not sure if it will ever trickle down to the 15" MBP or the MB. Knowing Apple, they'll only have it as an option on the highest model to encourage people to spend more money.

I'd be surprised if it weren't added to the entire Pro line, but I guess time will tell.

I think it's cool that they brought back the matte screen. My real concern is the built in "non replaceable" battery. I wouldn't purchase it just for that reason alone.

I don't really have qualms about that, since the battery exchange is not exorbitantly expensive compared to a normal battery replacement, and I take care of my battery.

But, as said, I'm a fanboy.

The battery in the new 17" is designed for 1000 cycles, so if you cycle your computer once a day you should be fine for three years.

toshiro: So if there was a problem with the battery, say out of Apple's 3 year warrenty.. (extended care) would you just send it into them to replace it? If so, cost? Just curious.

I have a 17" laptop now, and personally for traveling I'm rather get something a bit smaller. (Had my eye on the MacBook Pro 15".)

Well, from googling for MacBook Pro batteries, they cost from USD 90 to 130, compared to a significantly higher USD 180 for the Apple-certified swap. I'm not a fan of non-removable batteries either, but if the concept is sound (yet to be determined), I have no problem with it. I usually go with "If it works, use it. If it doesn't, don't". :)

I guess we'll just have to take the approach of "wait and see" on the new battery design. Hopefully it will turn out well.